By Oluwashina Okeleji
Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr says his team must improve, despite a 4-0 victory over Libya in their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Saturday.
Odion Ighalo hit his first hat-trick for the Super Eagles and Samuel Kalu added another late on to help them move up to second in Group E – a point behind leaders South Africa.
But Rohr insists Nigeria, who failed to qualify for the last two Nations Cups in 2015 and 2017, must fix obvious problems in order to reach Cameroon 2019.
“To win by 4-0 is good but this result does not mean we had a perfect game,” Rohr told reporters.
“We had obvious problems defensively especially in the first half and before we play Libya again in three days, we must improve on our weak areas.
“Sometimes you get away with mistakes and another time you can easily be punished, it could make a difference whether you can qualify or not.
“Our expansive play – by exploring the wings – in the second half helped us against a good side. Now we must maintain discipline in all areas.”
The three-time African champions depart Uyo on Monday for their return game against the Mediterranean Knights at Stade Taïeb Mhiri in Sfax, Tunisia on Tuesday.
Nigeria began their campaign to qualify for the 2019 Nations Cup in Cameroon with a surprise 2-0 loss to visiting South Africa in June last year.
They won 3-0 away in Seychelles in last month’s Nations Cup qualifier as they seek to return to the tournament they won in their last appearance in 2013. BBC Sport.
