Super Eagles point man, Victor Osimhen scored a second-half goal to secure a 1-1 draw for three-time continental champions, Nigeria against the Benin Republic in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification match.
The Super Eagles had to dig deep to rescue a point against the Beninese at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny, Cote d’Ivoire, on Thursday.
Nigeria qualified for the 2025 AFCON before the ball was kicked against the Benin Republic after Libya defeated Rwanda 1-0 minutes before the game.
However, the Beninese, led by Gernot Rohr, former Super Eagles head coach, needed a win to ensure a place in Morocco, and they made clear to Nigeria that they wanted the game more from the first whistle blast.
Osimhen started his first game for the Super Eagles in almost half a year.
His inclusion in the squad added more threat to the Nigerian attack in the first few minutes. He almost assisted a goal for Alex Iwobi, but the Fulham midfielder could not sort his legs out after Osimhen headed the ball down for him inside the Benin Republic goal area.
Shortly after, Kelechi Iheanacho sent Osimhen through on goal, but the Beninese goalkeeper, Danjinou, beat the Galatasaray striker to the ball. The keeper’s flailing boots also caught Osimhen, who was in pain for a few minutes.
Benin Republic leveraged the numerical advantage and grabbed the game’s first goal. A short corner led to a cross floating into the Nigerian goal area. Mohamed Tijani was unmarked, and his header sent the ball between Stanley Nwabali’s leg and into the Nigerian goal.
Osimhen had an opportunity to reply immediately, but his glancing header sailed millimetres wide.
After halftime, Eguavoen brought on Raphael Onyedika and Moses Simon as the Eagles continued to find solutions to the troublesome Beninese defence.
The answer came only after 81 minutes, with Osimhen buying himself a little space inside the box before powering a header off a brilliant cross from Moses.
The Super Eagles are assured of a top spot finish in Group D of the qualifier with 11 points. They face Rwanda in their final game of the qualification campaign in Uyo on Monday.
Libya’s 1-0 win in Rwanda earlier in the day meant Nigeria were guaranteed a top-two finish in Group D before their away game against Benin kicked off.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s hopes of qualification are still alive after Sudan suffered a damaging 4-0 defeat away against Niger, who revived their own campaign.
The Sudanese had needed just a point to progress from Group F.
Four-time Afcon winners Ghana must beat already-qualified Angola in Luanda on Friday (19:00 GMT) to remain in the hunt for a ticket to the 2025 finals.
Elsewhere, ten-man Tunisia netted a 93rd-minute winner to triumph 3-2 away to Madagascar and book a record-extending 17th successive appearance at the finals.
Gabon, South Africa and Uganda all progressed without kicking a ball after results in their respective groups went their way.
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