Former Super Eagles midfielder, Garba Lawal has stated that Gernot Rohr’s men will get punished for slow starts during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Lawal, who played in the 1998 World Cup, said this after Super Eagles were defeat 1-0 by Czech Republic on Wednesday in their final pre-World Cup friendly game played in Austria.
A first half goal from Tomas Kalas saw the Eagles suffer back-to-back defeats following their 2-1 loss to England at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
“At this level you can’t afford to be chasing games early and hope you will finish stronger to win,” Lawal told CSN.
“Great teams will punish you for that in tournaments.
“It’s was the same against England where they (Super Eagles) lost 2-1. After the changes at half time the team played well but they must start well from the blast of the whistle and play well and not wait to react when they are down.
“The reaction too didn’t cause enough panic to the Czech Republic team.”
Lawal also advised that the coach, Gernot Rohr, to get his starting line-up right before their opening game against Croatia in Kaliningrad Saturday next week.
“We have less than 10 days to our first game and I think that should give him enough time to get the best eleven for that game, because it will help their chances of qualifying for the next round,” Lawal said.
Eagles next game will be against Croatia on June 16 in their Group D opener at the World Cup before facing Iceland and Argentina in their remaining two fixtures.
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