29th March, 2019
The former Technical Director, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Olatunde Disu, on Friday said that the steady improvement of the senior national team, the Super Eagles, under the Franco-German tactician, Gernot Rohr, impressed him.
Disu, gave his assessment of the Eagles in the double header game, African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers and the International friendly with Egypt in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
NAN reports that the senior national team had qualified for the AFCON in style with a dead rubber game to play against Seychelles which they won 3-1 and thereafter defeated the Pharaohs of Egypt 1-0 in a friendly encounter.
Disu said that the team had improved a lot from where the coach started from, adding that the team remained the favourite to lift the AFCON trophy for the fourth time.
“The coach, Rohr impressed me a lot with his recent victories and achievements. The team has improved a lot from where the coach started from.
“The team now has the blend of youngsters that can hold any team. This is good for the country because any team that can beat a country like Egypt is a top team in Africa.
“The team has the confidence of taking on any country and that is what they need to win in any competition. As a coach studying the team myself, I can see a lot of improvement in them.
“We are a force t recon with in African football, and no country should take that away from us. The coach has really tried in scouting for new talents that can deliver for the country,’’ he said.
Disu said that the Super Eagles stood a chance of winning the AFCON if things go well with the team, adding that other countries were not having the best of time in football as well.
“In my assessment of the team, I think they stand the chance of winning the trophy if things go as planned. If they can defeat Egypt, then they should be able to face others.
“The greatest threat will come North African opposition but since we are able to defeat Egypt, others like Morocco, Tunisia are as well beatable.
“Other West African countries that may be in contention are not having it good save Senegal, so Nigeria can use the opportunity to dominate the African football once again.
“With the present status of the team, I believe that the national team will excel during AFCON; moreso, the coach has yielded to the call for the inclusion of home-based players,’’ he said.