Benin Republic’s head coach, Genort Rohr, acknowledged the disparity in skill between his team and the Super Eagles after a 3-0 loss to Nigeria in the first 2025 AFCON qualifying match in Uyo on Saturday.
Nigeria won with goals from 2024 Ballon d’Or nominee Ademola Lookman and reigning African Player of The Year Victor Osimhen.
Rohr, a former Super Eagles coach waxed lyrical about his team’s victory against Nigeria during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers but he was quick to admit that class is permanent after Saturday’s game.
“What didn’t work is that we don’t have the same means as this Nigerian team. When you look at the Nigerian squad, they are all very high-level players who play for their clubs. And unfortunately we have players who don’t play much for their clubs. So, you can’t compare the two squads,” Rohr said via Canal +.
“We managed to beat them at home. That gave them extra motivation to take their revenge, which is normal.
“And we saw that at home, in addition, with the stars present today, who weren’t there last time in Abidjan, the captain Ekong, also Osimhen. You see that there are means in this team that we don’t have. So, we have to stay in our place. But we want to finish at least in second place in this group. If you have conceded three goals and something has not worked within the defence.”
The Franco-German who led Nigeria to a third-place finish at the 2019 AFCON in Egypt also said he’s keen to lead the Benin Republic to next year’s tournament in Morocco.
“Of course, we want to go to the CAN. Benin missed two editions before my arrival. Now, we have to go. This time, it is very important. We all want to go to Morocco, and it is not because we lose in Nigeria that it calls into question our objective.”
