Rohr set to assess Iwobi, Etebo’s fitness, plots Zambia’s fall

• Erico advocates more friendlies for Eagles

Super Eagles Coach, Gernot Rohr, will assess Alex Iwobi and Oghenekaro Etebo’s fitness before the national team reconvenes towards the end of the month to begin preparation for the Russia 2018 World Cup qualifier against Zambia.

Iwobi and Etebo missed the Super Eagles’ last Gabon 2017 African Nations Cup qualifier against Tanzania because they were nursing injuries.

Super Eagles’ Media Officer, Toyin Ibitoye, told The Guardian yesterday that apart from Iwobi and Etebo, Rohr has decided to concentrate on the 23 players he invited for last weekend’s game against the Taifa Stars because bringing in new players would make the team unwieldy.

Nigeria will travel to Zambia on October 3 for their opening game of the 2018 World Cup qualifying series in Ndola. The Eagles will also meet Algeria and Cameroun home and away in the qualifying series.

Meanwhile, former Super Eagles assistant coach, Joe Erico, has urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to organise grade A warm up games for the national team, saying it would help Rohr to mould his squad into a formidable side.

Reacting to the Eagles’ 1-0 victory over Tanzania in Uyo, Erico praised the Nigerian side for fighting hard to win the encounter, saying that the victory would boost the team’s confidence as they prepare for the World Cup qualifiers.

According to Erico, the resilience and commitment displayed by the players during the game have proved that they are eager to fight hard to earn the World Cup ticket.

“The result the Eagles got against Tanzania is good enough to keep the players in the right spirit ahead of the World Cup qualifiers. You cannot expect the Eagles to beat Tanzania with a wild goal margin because this is modern day football. Other teams are working hard to also be at the top.

“All the players need now are more games to blend well ahead of the World Cup qualifiers,’’ he said.