Rohr hints at Ighalo’s return to Eagles

Gernot Rohr, Super Eagles head coach, has hinted at the potential return of Odion Ighalo back to the Super Eagles ahead of next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon.

Ighalo had announced his retirement in 2019, shortly after picking up the golden boot at the AFCON in Egypt.

He said his decision came after due consultations — so he could “concentrate on club football and give the younger players a chance to learn and grow.”

But while speaking with Elegbete TV on Friday, Rohr said Ighalo’s presence will inject experience and professionalism into the exuberance of his young attacking talents.

“We have so many strikers. The competition is so big. We have Onuachu, Osimhen, Kelechi. We have also perhaps the comeback of Ighalo. It could be interesting also. We have Sadiq Umar,” he said.

“When you look at the age of all these players they’re all young, we need a little experience. If Ighalo would perhaps, I don’t know if it’s possible for the moment, come back, these players could have a big help from Ighalo.

“They can learn from his professionalism. He’s a great professional and a big example for everybody and he’s also a great goal scorer. We’re very young in the attack, it’ll be great to have more experience.”

Rohr also said qualifying for the 2022 World in Qatar won’t be as smooth as the journey to Russia 2018. 

Nigeria was the first African country to qualify for the previous Mundial after a lone goal triumph over Zambia in Uyo.

The victory secured Super Eagles a place at the World Cup with a match to spare as they finished the qualification round undefeated.

The Franco-German said the rigorous qualification format and the calibre of opponents might be huge impediments this time around.

“It’ll be more difficult to qualify this time because we have to be first in our group. In our group we have teams like Liberia, Cape Verde, Central African Republic (CAR),” he added.

“And after that it’s not finished because we have to play against another first of the 10 groups. It’ll not be easy to qualify but I’m very optimistic.”