Head coach of the Super Eagles, Gernot Rohr, has picked Senegal, Tunisia and host nation Egypt, as favourites to win the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations trophy.
After being ranked by FIFA as the third-best footballing nation in Africa, Rohr has stated that a semi-final berth remains the country’s target.
“We are not the favourites to win it, the favourite is Egypt at home then the team number one in Africa is Senegal, then Tunisia,” the German told Goal.
Rohr also stated that the lessons learnt after their group stage exit from the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, would be vital for their success in Egypt.
“The experience of the World Cup is very important, we have 15 players who made the World Cup and know how high the level is in international football.
“We learned a lot in the World Wup, we were the youngest team in the World Cup and I think even now, we are still the youngest team.
“Unfortunately, we do not have more than [Victor] Moses but our captain Obi [Mikel] is back, our young players need also a guide. The mixture between the youth and experience is very important,” he added.
After their opening fixture against Burundi on June 22, Nigeria will play against Guinea on June 26 and then wrap up their group outings against Madagascar on June 30.
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