Former Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr said he is a little bit disappointed with the performances of African teams so far at the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
It has not been a good first round of games for African teams starting with African Champions Senegal failing to hold off Holland in their first group game on Monday.
Tunisia and Morocco fared better with goalless draws against Denmark and Croatia respectively on Tuesday and Wednesday but yesterday saw Cameroon narrowly lose 1-0 to Switzerland before a brave Ghana fell to a 3-2 defeat to a Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired Portugal.
The German tactician, who spends most of his time in France, added that he hopes France retain the trophy they won in 2018 in Russia and sees Germany improving as the tournament progresses despite Die Mannschaft’s shocking defeat to a plucky Japan on Wednesday.
“I am a little disappointed with the African teams. Senegal played a good match but lost in the end. Tunisia and Morocco both had good draws. Despite not scoring any goals they were very solid.
“We hope that France will be able to defend the trophy. If Mbappe and Giroud are playing very well then France can hope.
“England was also not bad. But let us just wait because we are only in the first round of games. Let us hope for Germany because many teams don’t start very well but get better as the tournament progresses.”
Rohr, who is in Qatar with his family while working with the football academy in Doha, was particularly impressed with Herve Renard’s Saudi Arabia and hoped the Green Falcons would reach the knockout stages of the competition.
“My friend Herve Renard played a fantastic match with Saudi Arabia (against Argentina). This is the biggest surprise and he has done his job for the moment. They really played very well and it would be wonderful if they qualify.”
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
