Super Eagles boss, Gernot Rohr has stated that Paul Onuachu actually scored for himself and Nigeria rather than for him (the German tactician).
Onuachu scored the only goal of Saturday’s 2022 African Cup of Nations qualification match against the Republic of Benin at the Stade Charles de Gaulle as Nigeria won 1-0.
Nigeria had already qualified even before their clash with Benin as Saturday’s earlier game between the two other group L opponents, Lesotho and Sierra Leone had finished goalless. This meant the two countries could no longer meet the Super Eagles on the table.
Onuachu, however, had other ideas as he came on as a substitute to score the only goal of the game against Benin in the 93rd minute to all but confirm Nigeria as group L winners. The goal was Onuachu’s second ever in the colours of Nigeria despite scoring regularly for KRC Genk of Belgium.
After the match, Rohr was asked how he felt after Onuachu finally scored a goal for him to which the Super Eagles manager replied: “Point of correction, Onuachu did not score for me but rather for himself and for Nigeria. I also believe that this goal will help his confidence whenever he is playing for the country.”
On how he felt after the win over Benin, Rohr said: “It was a sweet victory. It really feels good to finally end Benin’s eight-year unbeaten record at home. Even when the goal refused to come, my players remained calm because we already knew the result of the game between Lesotho and Sierra Leone. We had also already qualified for the AFCON,” Rohr stated