“Musa not Lionel Messi” – Super Eagles coach, Rohr says ahead of crucial Group D clash
Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr has said that though Ahmed Musa’s brace helped the team to a victory over Iceland last Friday, the forward should not be solely saddled with the responsibility of spurring the team to victory against Argentina.
Musa is no Lionel Messi, Rohr said ahead of the crucial Group D decider, warning that Nigeria should not get carried away by Musa’s performance.
“Musa is not Lionel Messi yet,” the German told kicker. “Somebody said ‘Lionel Musa’ yesterday, but he’s not there yet. I hope he can do it one day.”
Rohr also said that the team is weary of Argentina’s threats as a team, and not just the Barcelona star.
“Argentina have one more day to prepare. That’s an advantage for them,” he said. “But it could be the other way around because we have the psychological effect on our side because we came back from a defeat on the opening day.
“Most teams also lost the second match, but we turned it around. It wasn’t easy. The psychological advantage now is that we have a positive approach. And it’s the other way around for Argentina. We bank on that a bit.
“He’s not the only key. If you look at the team, they have so many good players. You only have to look at where they are playing. Aguero and Otamendi at Manchester City. Higuain and Dybala at Juve and so it continues. Individually, Argentina are among the best teams in the world.
“They were unfortunate to miss that penalty against Iceland. Argentina are not only Messi, but he’s the most dangerous, that’s obvious. Moreover, he is a proud person and he does not want to go out.”
A draw could be enough to see Nigeria clinch the last slot for teams to progress in the group, while Argentina must win the game to progress to the knockout stage.
