Nigeria vs Serbia : Super Eagles came short of expectation in their pre-World Cup friendly against Serbia in London and Gernot Rohr has said valuable lessons have been learnt.

Gernot Rohr

Fielding an inexperienced defence and a blunt attack led by Ahmed Musa, the Eagles were outclassed by Serbia. It was a dress rehearsal for their opening Group D match against Croatia, who play a similar style of football with the Serbs.

“Rohr commended the boys and urged them not to drop their heads because no football team in the world wins all their games,” Eagles spokesman Toyin Ibitoye said.

“The coach told the team they should learn from this defeat and not sulk, but rather go back to their clubs and keep fighting.

“He said what was most important after such a loss is how the team react, he said, adding that  “we have to bounce back.”

The Serbia loss was only the second in 14 games for the Eagles under Rohr.

Installed 20 months ago as Eagles coach, Rohr has won eight matches and drawn four.