GERNOT Rohr has defended his Super Eagles successor Jose Peseiro, insisting that the criticism of the Portuguese is excessive.
Super Eagles head coach Peseiro has come under severe attack in recent days, most calling for his sacking, following the lacklustre performances against Lesotho and Zimbabwe which ended in disappointing 1-1 draws in their opening 2026 World Cup qualifying matches.
Rohr, who steered Nigeria to the 2018 World Cup relatively comfortably despite facing much tougher qualifying opponents, is currently head coach of Benin Republic.
The German feels the criticism of Peseiro by the media is unfair, adding that it has degenerated into ‘personal attacks’.
“It is never good to make personal attacks on somebody,” Rohr said, according to South African outlet iDiski Times.
“He was not on the pitch, he didn’t have the best players – lots of them are missing, injured. You know them. One of the best strikers [Victor Osimhen of Napoli] is injured.
“So, he did his best. It’s not easy to play on the artificial pitch and play in Rwanda – it’s not easy. It is not easy to beat Lesotho, but that can happen.
“I have always had the solidarity with coaches who have problems.”
Rohr’s Benin Republic are in the same African qualifying Group C with Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Lesotho.
The West Africans have played both their opening matches in Durban, South Africa, losing their first outing 1-0 to South Africa last Saturday before holding Lesotho to a 0-0 draw at the same Moses Mahbida Stadium venue.
The group is led by Rwanda with four points, followed by South Africa with three.
Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Lesotho have two points each, while Rohr’s Benin Republic are bottom with one point.
