Former Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has backed Morocco and Senegal to make significant progress at the 2026 FIFA World Cup while expressing disappointment at Nigeria’s continued absence from football’s biggest stage, saying it is a real shame that stars of the calibre of Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman are not on show in North America.
Rohr, who guided Nigeria to the 2018 World Cup in Russia and currently manages Benin Republic, spoke with Footy-Africa after watching several matches in the United States before returning home, and said African teams have closed the gap on their European and South American counterparts to the point where parity can now be claimed.
“From what I saw physically, in the two games featuring Morocco against Brazil and France against Senegal, as well as Ivory Coast against Ecuador, I think the African teams are doing well at the moment,” he said.
“Perhaps it was a bit difficult for South Africa, the Bafana Bafana, and it was certainly tough for them in the opening game. Tunisia and Algeria also had difficult moments, but they all performed well.”
The Franco-German tactician was particularly emphatic on the question of whether African football has truly caught up with the traditional powers.
“Strategically, we are now on the same level as European or South American teams, which is great. The same goes for physical fitness. I think they are now on par with the standards in Europe. The organisation of the African teams now is much better than before,” he said.
Rohr singled out Morocco, who reached the semi-finals at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, as the team best placed to carry Africa’s hopes deep into the tournament.
“I believe Morocco can go very far in this competition,” he said. He also praised Senegal’s display against France, though he noted the Teranga Lions lost their grip on the match in the second half of a 3-1 defeat.
On Nigeria’s absence, Rohr was candid about his regret. The former Bordeaux manager had led the Super Eagles to the 2018 World Cup before later being dismissed by the Nigeria Football Federation during the qualifying campaign for Qatar 2022. Nigeria have now missed consecutive World Cups, despite fielding one of the most talented squads on the continent.
“I also think about how Nigeria hasn’t participated since 2018. I believe this is because when we faced them in the group stage, even though they had great individual players with immense quality, they simply didn’t play like a team early on and dropped too many points,” Rohr said.
“It is truly a pity that major players like Osimhen and Lookman are not here to be seen. For me, it’s a pity. I was in New York. I could see some games. I’m heading back home now and will be following other games from my home,” he added.
Nigeria failed to qualify from a group featuring South Africa, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and the Republic of Benin, with South Africa eventually topping the standings to claim automatic qualification.