From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Nigeria former international, Garba Lawal, has expressed concern that the Super Eagles victory over the Argentine national team will put undue pressure on the technical adviser, Gernot Rohr, in selecting players for the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Lawal, who commended the Eagles for putting up strong fighting spirit especially coming from behind to steal the show during the international friendly, however warned that winning Argentina may not translate to anything at the World Cup without extra preparations.
While arguing that they have set a very high expectation with the defeat over Argentina, the former Eagles utility player reminded the Gernot Rohr-led team that it is not yet uhuru as other teams would come hard on them and unleash forces against them.
“Yes, I have to admit that the result against Argentina shocked me because I never thought the Super Eagles could record such good result against Argentina,” he told Daily Sunsport in a telephone conversation.
“However, we should know that it is a friendly match and I know that every game is different. The Argentina we defeated will certainly not be the Argentina we will face at the World Cup.”
“I want to think that they were cautious about putting in everything into the game. I must also give it to the Eagles for reacting very well. They should however have it in their minds that it is not yet uhuru for them. Winning Argentina may not translate to doing very well at the World Cup,” he said.
Reminding the team of the far-reaching effects of the victory, he warned: “They have set high expectations for themselves and from now, many teams would come all out against the Eagles. No team will underrate the Eagles any more.”
“On the whole, it is Gernot Rohr I pity most now because he will not only face selection headache but also severe pressures from the administrators and many Nigerians in picking the final 23-man World Cup squad.
“People will recommend one player or the other from one part of the globe and the other. He must be wary of making costly mistake. As a good coach, he knows the kind of players he wants for the World Cup,” he noted.
On the players who impressed him most against Argentina, Lawal simply singled out Arsenal forward, Alex Iwobi, stressing: “The player who impressed me most is certainly Alex Iwobi and one or two others.”