Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has admitted his team lacked pace in their final Group C fixture against Cape Verde on Tuesday, ugamatv reports.

The Eagles reached the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifying play-offs despite being held 1-1 by the Blue Sharks at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.

Rohr’s side finished with 13 points from six games, two ahead of Cape Verde, who finished second in the group.

Speaking with press men on Wednesday, the 68-year-old said the three-time African champions needed to be quicker in their transition from defence.

“I want to see the team play quicker from defence,” Rohr told press men.

“We were too slow from defence. Our central defenders took too much time to bring the ball out of the defence.”

Rohr also believes that the partnership of Odion Ighalo and Victor Osimhen will be formidable ahead of the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon

“I want to exploit more opportunities to score and to be more effective offensively,” he said.

He expressed optimism ahead of next month’s play-offs draw.

The Eagles will know their play-offs opponents in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers on December 18.

Rohr’s side are one of the top five seeded teams on the continent alongside Senegal, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

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The Eagles could draw any of the five teams who are not seeded.

The five unseeded teams are Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Cameroon and DR Congo.

“We have to be optimistic about the draw and about who we play and that we will qualify for the World Cup.”

The playoffs are scheduled for between March 21 and 29, 2022.