Former Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has expressed astonishment at Nigeria’s lackluster start to the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualification campaign.

The Nigerian squad started their journey for a World Cup ticket with a disappointing draw against lowly-ranked Lesotho at the Nest of Champions in Uyo last Thursday.

Adding to the team’s woes, they dropped crucial points in another 1-1 draw against Zimbabwe on Sunday.

The team’s performance in the early stages of the qualification process has raised eyebrows.

Rohr, who currently manages the Republic of Benin, admitted to closely watching the match against Lesotho, indicating a keen interest in the struggles faced by his former team.

“You know that I spent some years in Nigeria and we played even here in South Africa in Johannesburg against Bafana Bafana so you always have an eye on your former team.

“I was suffering with them, I saw that they attacked without scoring a goal. They had to wait for a corner and a header of the big player Ajayi.​

“Yes, they have problems, we know that they have big players, perhaps, they have the best players all over Africa in this team, some of them were not here, but still they had three center forwards, all wonderful players, fourth striker Lookman also, and Iwobi behind.

“Normally, you should win this game in Uyo in a a wonderful stadium, but like you saw all is possible in this group, there can be a lot of surprises and this was already one of them.

“We never believed that Lesotho could earn a draw in Nigeria but they did well and showed that they are able to have a word in this group also.”

Rohr’s side lost their opening game against South Africa and will face Lesotho, on Monday.

Benin Republic will then host Nigeria on matchday 4 of the qualifiers, in June next year.