WORLD CUP WATCH: Former NFA boss: Gernot Rohr’s squad the best we have

by Graeme Jackson

Wednesday May 16, 2018. 12:30

Kojo Williams, the former chairman of the now defunct Nigeria Football Association, has said that the provisional World Cup squad chosen by coach Gernot Rohr represents the best the country has to offer right now.

“The squad is the best we have now and it is a reflection of the standard of our football, which has our best playing in Turkey, Israel, China and Belgium,” he is quoted by Vanguard.

Williams added that the Super Eagles are still in the process of building to their full strength and should target the 2022 tournament as the time to really challenge for top honours.

"I told you it is a team in progress. Our target should be the World Cup after this, not Russia. Whoever believes Nigeria can win the 2018 World Cup, that person is a joker."

He added, "I am not writing off our team. I don't have much fear in the first round. The problem would come when they get to the second round and the quarterfinal stages.

“That is when they would likely meet well established teams that have been building in the last ten years. The likes of Germany, France, Brazil, among others, would come up."

Nigeria open their 2018 World Cup campaign with a Group D clash against Croatia on June 16, followed by matches against Iceland and Argentina on June 22 and 26 respectively.