Victor Osimhen, who also scored the winner against Sierra Leone in Abuja on Thursday, scored four of the goals, starting his account with a powerful header that goalkeeper Anastacio Braganca could not just stop in the 9^th minute. As early as the second minute, Osimhen, always fully charged, had flicked the ball with his head from a Zaidu Sanusi pull-out, but there was no Eagle to connect.

In the 19^th minute, Terem Moffi’s shot was saved by Braganca as Nigeria dominated easily and with much efficiency, and four minutes later, a good Osimhen header from Ademola Lookman’s corner was again saved by Braganca.

In the 28^th minute, defender Ola Aina’s pull-out found Osihmen, who laid for Moses Simon to tap beyond the flailing hands of Braganca for Nigeria’s second. Four minutes later, Sao Tome and Principe had their first shot at Francis Uzoho’s goal, but Luis Leal’s effort went off target.

Moffi wasted two excellent opportunities to take Nigeria higher on the scoreline, in the 36^th amd 40^th minute, but did just that in the 43^rd minute when he beat two defenders to slam into the net from a great Osimhen pass.

In the secong half, it was all Nigeria. Osimhen’s firm header from pull-out by Lookman in the 48^th minute went in for the fourth goal, and seven minutes later, Oghenekaro Etebo fired his 20 –yard free-kick into the underside of the bar and into the net for Nigeria’s fifth. Osimhen thought he had scored a sixth for Nigeria in the 57^th minute, but it was ruled off-side.

On the hour mark, substitute Ahmed Musa, only two minutes on the pitch, found an onrushing Sanusi whose cross found Terem Moffi well-placed to slam the ball into the net for Nigeria’s sixth. It was Moffi’s first goal for the Super Eagles.

Three minutes later, there was another first. Ademola Lookman found the roof of the net after another Musa pass found Moffi and he chipped over onrushing goalie Braganca. It was Lookman’s first goal for Nigeria.

Osimhen, ever too much to handle, got his hat-trick in the 65^th minute when laid on by a sweet Ahmed Musa pass, and in the 84^th minute, another brilliant Musa pass found Osimhen in the right place to score his fourth and Nigeria’s ninth.

Substitute Emmanuel Dennis won and converted a penalty kick on the dot of 90 minutes to round up a goal-spangled afternoon for Nigeria in Morocco’s southern coastal city.

The Super Eagles’ next games in the qualification are against Guinea-Bissau home and away in September.  

Photo Credits: Victor Modo

It would be a festival of lights, sparks and fireworks when Nigeria’s Super Eagles wing wizard Moses Simon alongside other Nigerian foreign based players take on BYT Academicals in an exhibition game at Eagles Club, Surulere.

The game will feature Nantes and Super Eagles star Moses Simon, Karo Etebo, Isaac Success, Peter Olayinka, Rabiu Ibrahim etc.

The Managing Partner of B.Y.T Academical and co-organizer, Omobolanle Osoba said preparations are now in finishing gears, as they are set to host a magnificent game of friendly tussle. He said “this exhibition game will feature some of the top players and we are really excited to establish this platform for everyone”

The game will be played on Wednesday, 15th June 2022, 4pm at Eagles’Club, Lagos.

Nigeria and Ghana neutralized each other in a high-tempo, no-catching-your-breath, heart-thumping World Cup playoff, first leg encounter inside a tumultuous Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi on Friday.

There was a lot of running and cheer-drawing nutmegs, but goalkeepers Francis Uzoho and Joseph Wollacott shared only few saves between them in the opening leg of a 180-minute decider for a ticket to the 22^nd FIFA World Cup finals.

The iconic Baba Yara Stadium, packed to the rafters, erupted each time the white-clad Black Stars went on the onslaught, but lack of productivity ensured the high-decibel support diminished steadily as time climbed on the scoreboard.

The impressive Mohammed Kudus, Abdul Fatawu, Baba Idrissu and stand-in captain Thomas Partey showed desperation to put Ghana ahead early in the game, but met stiff resistance from Leon Balogun, William Ekong and Zaidu Sanusi.

In the 6^th minute, Kelechi Iheanacho very nearly caught an adventurous Wollacott off his line from a 25-yard free kick, before Balogun manfully thwarted an advancing Fatawu as he bore down on goal in the 15^th minute.

The Black Stars were luminous in the first quarter hour in Ghana’s second city, but once Sanusi cleverly stepped past two persons and his pull-out was only a bit too high for Osimhen, it became a somewhat level-playing field.

In the 33^rd minute, Uzoho underscored his agility when Fatawu, at the end of a counter, unleashed a scorcing shot. Four minutes later, Osimhen failed to get enough purchase on his shot. Nigeria’s best chance of the half came in the 41^st minute, when the ball fell nicely to Joseph Ayodele-Aribo, but he lifted the ball a bit too high. Just before the break, Ekong had to come to the rescue as Kudus set up Alex Djiku.

In the second half, Wollacott had to be alert to save from Simon who got himself into a good shooting position, and at the other end in the 66^th, Suleman Abdulmumin flighted the ball too high. Uzoho parried from Kudus and Ghana came close from a corner kick but in the 76^th minute, Nigeria thought they had won a penalty after substitute Oghenekaro Etebo’s pass was scooped by Gideon Mensah. But after a VAR cheque, Moroccan referee Rédouane Jiyed annulled his own decision.

Both teams clash in the final 90 minutes of the fixture at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, starting from 6pm on Tuesday. The Nigerian delegation to the match in Kumasi returned to Abuja on Saturday morning