Russia 2018: Semi Finals, Super Eagles’ Target – Rohr

Nigeria coach, Gernot Rohr has revealed that his team is aiming to reach the semifinals of  the 2018 World Cup.
Having secured their place at the finals in Russia with a game to spare earlier this month, the Super Eagles have already begun looking ahead to the global tournament.
Nigeria has advanced into the last 16 of the World Cup on three previous occasions, including in 2014 when they were beaten 2-0 by France.
“They [Nigeria] are already out of the group stage to go to the round of 16, especially in 2014 when they faced the French team,” Rohr told Tidesports source.
“We will try to do as well. Unfortunately, here, the ambitions are a little more excessive: the team must reach at least the semifinals.
“We have the ambition of the leaders to manage, even if I get along very well with the president [Amaju Pinnick], who came to get me.
“There are many people at the Federation (NFF). As in all African countries, it’s never easy. But for now, it’s going very well.”
Nigeria will wrap up their qualification campaign with a match away to Algeria on November 10, before facing World Cup hosts Russia in a friendly four days later.
Meanwhile, news coming out of Zambia is that FIFA has thrown out Zambia’s protest regarding the 2018 World Cup qualifier against Nigeria on October 7 in Uyo.
The Football Association of Zambia protested after they felt that referee Joshua Bondo was not fair in his handling of the match.
Nigeria clinched a 1-0 win and qualified for their third straight World Cup with a match to spare in Group B.
As a result, FAZ was aggrieved and filed a formal protest to FIFA asking them to look into the matter after their goal was disallowed by Bondo.
The goal in question was scored after one of the assistant referees had clearly flagged for an offside and effectively stopped play.
However, in a letter addressed to FAZ and signed by Julien Deux of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, the world football governing body dismissed the case for lacking merit.
Deux told the Zambians to accept the result and referring them to Article 15, Paragraph 6 of the World Cup regulations.
FIFA said there was “no evidence of any infringement of the regulations by the referees”.