*S/Eagles Must Wallop Visiting Benin 3-0, While Rwanda Draw Bafana For Nigeria To Qualify
*Tuesday Is D-Day For Top 3
The Super Eagles were lucky to go home with maximum points following a 2-1 win over Lesotho at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Friday, 10 October.
While the Nigerians were not at their very best, they collected maximum points on the road and kept themselves in contention to go to the global tournament.
Nigeria Dominate Play But Slim Win In The End
Despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession in the first half, the Super Eagles struggled to break Lesotho’s defence.
It needed a penalty for Nigeria to go ahead and captain William Troost-Ekong assumed the responsibility to convert from the spot 10 minutes into the second half.
Even after trailing, the hosts never showed any intention to hit back and it was actually the Nigerians who nearly doubled their advantage on 62 minutes when Victor Osimhen was denied by the upright post.
Osimhen was back against to rattle the post from a tight angle with 12 minutes to go as Nigeria searched for a goal to cushion their lead.
Debutant and substitute Akor Adams’ low shot then extended the Super Eagles’ lead with 10 minutes to go.
But Likuena pulled back with seven minutes remaining when Hlompho Kalake pounced on Stanley Nwabali’s miscalculated punch in, to leave Nigeria at a risk of being levelled.
Some miscommunication between Sami Ajayi and Nwabali almost gifted Lesotho an equaliser, but Nigeria survived as an effort by the hosts went just wide.
Still An Opportunity To Finish Tops For Nigeria
Following Friday’s result, Nigeria remain third on the table and still have three points fewer than log leaders Benin, who have 17 points after beating Rwanda on the same evening.
Should the Super Eagles beat Benin by a three-goal margin at home on Tuesday and Rwanda at least hold second-placed Bafana Bafana to a draw, Eric Chelle’s side will climb to the top of the standings.
Having now beaten Lesotho and Benin winning 1-0 against Rwanda, qualification will go down to the wire on Tuesday when South Africa (15pts) face Rwanda (11pts) while Nigeria (14pts) will in Uyo take on Benin (17pts) to determine who automatically goes to World Cup 2026 in North America.
*PHOTO CAPTION: A Super Eagle (in green) tussles for the ball vs a Lesotho player…on Friday.
World Cup Qualifier Results Across Continents, Friday 10 October
AFRICA: World Cup – Qualification
Gambia – Gabon 3:4
Seychelles – Ivory Coast 0:7
South Sudan – Senegal 0:5
Sudan – Mauritania 0:0
Togo – D.R. Congo 0:1
Lesotho – Nigeria 1:2
Rwanda – Benin 0:1
Sao Tome and Principe – Tunisia 0:6
Zimbabwe – South Africa 0:0
EUROPE: World Cup – Qualification
Kazakhstan – Liechtenstein 4:0
Belgium – North Macedonia 0:0
France – Azerbaijan 3:0
Germany – Luxembourg 4:0
Iceland – Ukraine 3:5
Kosovo – Slovenia 0:0
Northern Ireland – Slovakia 2:0
Sweden – Switzerland 0:2
NORTH & CENTRAL AMERICA: World Cup
Qualification – Third stage
Nicaragua – Haiti 0:3
Honduras – Costa Rica 0:0
Suriname – Guatemala 1:1
Bermuda – Trinidad & Tobago 0:3
