Rohr To Start Club 'Bench Warmers' Against Zimbabwe

Rohr To Start Club 'Bench Warmers' Against Zimbabwe

By Admin

Nigeria manager Gernot Rohr has revealed that he plans to give game time to some of his squad’s ‘rusty’ players in this coming weekend’s international friendly against Zimbabwe.

The Super Eagles will face the Warriors in Asaba on Saturday as both teams gear up for their participation in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Rohr has concerns over the likes of Leon Balogun and Kelechi Iheanacho, who saw relatively little playing time for their Premier League clubs – Brighton & Hove Albion and Leicester City respectively – this past season.

“I want to see a lot of players who are not playing so much, give them the opportunity to play,” Rohr told reporters in Asaba earlier this week.

“It can be for some defenders like Balogun, he is fit but he didn’t play so much, so we want to see him playing on Saturday and also some players like Kelechi who didn’t play at all, so we want to see him play on Saturday.”

Nigeria, who will come up against Burundi, Guinea and Madagascar in Group B at the 2019 finals, will also take on Senegal in a warm-up friendly in Ismailia on June 16.