Gernot Rohr profoundly expressed his aspirations to lead the Benin Republic to the FIFA World Cup, repeating the record he achieved with the Super Eagles of Nigeria in 2018 in Russia.
The 70-year-old French Speaking German (Franco-German) made the assertion after the Cheetahs outclassed his former side the Super Eagles 2-1 in a Group C qualifying tie at Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan on Monday.
Jodel Dossou put them level on 37 minutes, 10 minutes after Raphael Onyedika put Nigeria ahead against the run of play, while Steve Mounié doubled their lead with a late goal into the second half of the encounter to seal the side’s memorable win. The result skirted them to the top of the group chart with seven points, cementing Rohr’s hope presence at the World Cup tournament in Canada, Mexico, USA.
“When I arrived in Benin, there was a lot of confidence and trust shown to me with an offer of a 3-year contract. I told them we want to go to the World Cup, I did the World Cup with Nigeria in Russia, we had a very young team, a developing squad squad, the youngest in the World Cup in fact, and I want to replicate same here, we have to realize the players dream, we have to make the staff dream and why not?”
Gernot Rohr, the triumphant coach of Nigeria’s 2018 World Cup-qualifying victory, was cheered by his players with a celebratory shoulder-high carry after the match. Although Rohr managed to qualify Nigeria for the World Cup in Russia, the team was unable to dominate their tough Group D, which included Croatia, the Republic of Ireland, and Argentina.
Despite a disheartening 2-0 loss to Croatia in their opening game, the Super Eagles demonstrated resilience and responded with a fierce 2-0 victory over Ireland, only to suffer a narrow 2-1 defeat against Argentina in their final group game, ultimately placing third in the group with a total of three points. Gernot Rohr, who assumed the role of Nigeria’s head coach on August 9, 2016, departed from the team on December 13, 2021, having managed 64 matches and achieving 35 wins, 16 draws, and 13 losses during his nearly six-year tenure.
