Five changes he made to the team that got a 1-0 win over Guinea on Wednesday, June 26; Ikechukwu Ezenwa came replaced Daniel Akpeyi in goal, William Troost-Ekong returned to the starting XI with Kenneth Omeruo rested, John Ogu got his first AFCON game in place of Wilfred Ndidi while Mikel Obi was also back in the team to replace Alex Iwobi. 

A draw was all Nigeria needed to finish top of Group B, a result that would have also been enough for Madagascar to get through from the game.

But if the Super Eagles believed that the Malagasy would be contented with just getting a draw, they were in for a rude shock. 

It took just 13 minutes for the Indian Ocean Islanders to score after a defensive slip up from Leon Balogun. Balogun was slow to react to a pass from Ogu and Lalaina Nomenjanahary pounced to finish past Ezenwa. 

It was the first goal in three games that the Super Eagles had conceded at AFCON 2019 and it was fitting that it came with a defensive mistake as Nigeria’s defence have been superb in Egypt. 

Although the Super Eagles were behind, an upset was still not likely at this time as many expected the three-time champions to respond. 

The response didn’t come. Samuel Kalu fluffed a fine bass from Ahmed Musa in the 19th minute. Musa himself was guilty of missing a fine chance later on as he chose to dribble with only the goalkeeper to beat instead of a one time finish. 

Rohr brought on Ndidi to replace Ogu at the restart but it was the Leicester City midfielder that deflected Carolus Andra’s freekick past Ezenwa for Madagascar’s second goal in the 53rd minute. 

The upset was on and there was nothing the Super Eagles could do afterwards. 

Iwobi came on for Mikel but the Arsenal man had little effect on the game as the Super Eagles bow to a shocking defeat. 

In the end, it was a complete embarrassing performance from the Super Eagles as Madagascar were far the better side. 

On Twitter, Nigerians went into a meltdown and Rohr was on the end of some heavy criticism but the Super Eagles players laid the blame on his players, especially the fringe stars that failed to take their chances. 

“I wanted to see other players which was why I made five changes and that was perhaps why we were dominated by Madagascar. We have to work hard for the next match because that is more important,” the coach told the media at the post-match press conference. 

It was a humbling experience for the Super Eagles to lose to a side that rated lower than 100th in the latest FIFA Ranking. Perhaps it was the experience they needed to stay on their toes for the rest of their stay in Egypt.