Gernot Rohr has singled out defender Valentine Ozornwafor for praise after seeing his men force the Indomitable Lions to a 0-0 draw on Tuesday at the Stadion Wienner in Austria.
In the absence of William Troost-Ekong, the Galatasaray man provided cover for goalkeeper Maduka Okoye, while Nantes forward Moses Simon was drafted to play the left-back role.
Ozornwafor’s invitation for the friendlies was hugely criticised due to limited number of games he played for his club last season.
However, the former Enyimba justified his senior national team call-up by putting up a stunning display to cage Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s inspired attack.
“We had a problem building the defence, so we played for the first time with Valentine and he did very well,” Rohr said after the game. “He finished the match with Moses Simon who played in the left-back position and we didn’t concede a goal.
“I am very happy for Valentine. A lot of people did not understand why he was with us and he showed the reasons today. He did very well with his left foot in the central defence.”
The Super Eagles will next take on Mexico at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on July 3 in the build up to September’s 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Cape Verde and Liberia.
