Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr said on Thursday the Super Eagles will take advantage of the hot weather conditions tin Volgograd to seal victory against Iceland at the Volgograd Arena on Friday.
Rohr, who spoke to reporters after his team arrived in Volgograd, said he expected a tough challenge from the Blazers, who held Argentina to a 1-1draw in Moscow on Saturday.
Defeat would see Nigeria become the third African side after Morocco and Egypt to be dumped out after just two group matches, and Rohr hit back at a reporter when asked if a loss might see his job on the line.
The German said, “It will again be an away game for us, they will have 20,000 fans here so let’s have a little advantage with the temperature,” the German coach told reporters.
“We will not lose this game so I do not answer this question. You can ask this question again after the game, but I will tell you we will not lose.
“We have Mikel Obi, who is still a very good player, and we have Victor Moses and they are well known everywhere.
“But when you have such young players what you have is a team for 2022. They will get better and better. “We are (ranked) about 50 in the world, Iceland are top 20, I think, Croatia top 12 and Argentina top eight.
“When I see the matches are so difficult then we have to learn also; it is not finished after this World Cup for us. We want to improve, we want to learn.
“When you are the youngest already it is not possible perhaps to be already the best.”
The former Gabon coach said Nigeria were unlucky to lose 2-0 to Croatia in their opening clash in Kaliningrad on Saturday.
He said, “We are ready for this match and we are united, we are working like a team and living like a family.
“You can’t always win. They did a good match against Croatia.
“We had 47 per cent possession of the ball, we had 14 shots on the goal, they only had 12. They scored two goals but I think we deserved a draw.”
Also, Iceland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson believes the warm weather in Volgograd, which is expected to rise above 30 degrees Celsius, is in favour of Nigeria.
“We expect victory, but the heat in Volgorad is for Nigeria to enjoy,” Hallgrimsson told reporters on Thursday.
