Nigerians have reacted to the Super Eagles’ win against Lesotho in the 2026 World Cup qualifier on Friday.
The Super Eagles boosted their 2026 World Cup qualification hopes with a 2-1 victory over Lesotho in a tightly contested match.
The return of Victor Osimhen and William Troost-Ekong strengthened the Nigerian side, as coach Eric Chelle named a strong lineup. Nigeria began with intent, with Moses Simon causing early problems down the right wing, but Lesotho’s solid defensive setup frustrated the Eagles’ attack throughout the first half.
Osimhen came close to breaking the deadlock in the 38th minute, forcing a fine save from goalkeeper Sekhoane.
Nigeria eventually found their breakthrough early in the second half after Lesotho’s Motlomelo Mkwanazi handled the ball in the box. Troost-Ekong converted the resulting penalty, placing it calmly into the bottom corner.
The Eagles maintained control and extended their lead in the 80th minute when Osimhen set up Akor Adams, who finished smartly to make it 2-0.
Lesotho, however, capitalised on a defensive lapse late in the game. A corner kick caused confusion in Nigeria’s box, and Hlompho Kalake pounced to fire past goalkeeper Stanlee Nwabali, reducing the deficit.
The Super Eagles’ narrow win in Lesotho has reignited belief, but they’ll need both precision and a bit of luck in the final round if they are to return to football’s biggest stage after missing out on Qatar 2022.
Reacting to the result of the match on X, @RoRoFli stated, “Forget this win against Lesotho, shey na the super eagles wey wan go world cup be this?
@ChumaNnoli “Nigeria being unable to convincingly beat Lesotho and getting what looks like a lucky win at the end shows how much we’re still struggling. This same Lesotho were beaten 4-0 by Benin and 3-0 by South Africa last month. The Super Eagles need to do better.”
@stiny4all “We need to do more than better sef countries are evolving their football and we are not.”
@IgelleV “I don wash my hands commot from their mata since I can’t support Super Eagle and Man United at same time abeg.”
@the_smallie “All my years for engineering, I no do the kind maths wey I de do for Super Eagles to qualify for World Cup.”
@FinaNapoleon “Too many things to say about the Super Eagles but all I can say is NA WA”
@Omolomo_o “Na passion dey make us support these super eagles, if we put it aside nothing go make us remember them.”
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