Many Nigerians expected Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi to play a leading role for Nigeria at the World Cup in Russia but that wasn’t the case as he lost his spot after the first game, which was the 0-2 loss to Croatia.
Iwobi was a late minute substitute in the game against Iceland which Nigeria won and also played the last five minutes of the 1-2 loss to Argentina, which sent them packing from the tournament.
His bit part role made many Nigerians to question the decision by Rohr but the 22 year old who has 22 caps for Nigeria said he understood why he didn’t get enough playing time at the World Cup in an interview this Nigerian portal monitored by our editorial team.
“It’s not just me or my tournament, it’s Nigeria’s tournament.The coach didn’t put me in that position because he wanted to try something new, try something else, so I had no problems because at the end of the day it is what the manager decides is what goes”, Iwobi told the BBC
On the way forward, Iwobi said he hope the team has learnt from the disappointment of crashing out of the World Cup at the group stage as it will be pivotal in their future quest for honours.
“The squad is young and we picked important lessons that will hopefully help us going forward,” he said.
“Attention will soon shift to the Nations Cup and we must make our World Cup lessons count.”
