Published March 12, 2021
Former Super Eagles winger , George Finidi , has questioned the choice of some players selected by coach Gernot Rohr for Nigeria ’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin Republic and Lesotho later this month , The PUNCH reports .
Rohr released a 24 – man list for the games on Tuesday , listing two defenders Shehu Abdulahi and Semi Ajayi as midfielders alongside Wilfred Ndidi and Oghenekaro Etebo for the games , a decision Finidi disagreed with .
The 49 -year – old , who scored eight goals in 45 matches for Nigeria also said striker Paul Onuachu’s poor form with the Eagles has been down to poor coaching .
Onuachu has scored 26 goals with three assists in 30 games across all competitions , but has failed to replicate his club form for the national team where he has scored just once in seven appearances .
Finidi believes Onuachu’ s poor display for the Eagles is down to coaching .
“ I have a problem with his list , selecting centre- backs as midfielders and right -backs in the midfield, ” Finidi told The PUNCH .
“ In the case of Paul Onuachu, who was snubbed , if you want a player to perform , you set up your formation in a way to make him comfortable . He has struggled largely because of poor coaching . ”
“ This is Rohr. The coach you expect to take us to the World Cup and win the AFCON . If he was a Nigerian that made these decisions , we would critique him , but here’ s a coach who is supposedly very experienced, the choices are questionable .”
The Eagles face The Squirrels at the Stade Charles de Gaulle in Port Novo on March 27 before hosting the Crocodiles at the Teslim Balogun Stadium , Lagos three days later in their final group fixture .
Nigeria lead Group L with eight points and a win over the Republic of Benin or Lesotho will seal their place for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.