September 07, (THEWILL) – The Super Eagles maintained the top spot in Group C in the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifying series on Tuesday with a 2-1 away victory over Cape Verde at the Estádio Municipal Aderito Sena in Mindelo, Cape Verde.
It was not the most impressive of performances by any means given the gulf in quality between the two sides, with Cape Verde 43 places below Nigeria’s 34th in the current FIFA rankings.
However, as snappy a win as it was, courtesy of Kenny Santos’s own goal, Gernot Rohr will not mind. It was all they needed to secure the all-important three points and maintain a perfect start to the race to Qatar 2022.
With the absence of first-team defenders Leon Balogun and William Troost-Ekong, Rohr’s makeshift backline allowed Dylan Tavares the opener to give the hosts the lead after only 19 minutes of play. It was not the start that Rohr was expecting but starting Napoli’s Victor Osimhen paid off.
The striker, who is serving a two-match ban for the red card he was issued during Napoli’s Serie A season’s opener against Venezia, drew Nigeria level ten minutes after the Tavares goal, taking full advantage of a defensive slip.
The score remained even for most of the second half as Rohr rang in the changes on the attacking front to get the victory. Lorient’s Terem Moffi replaced Nigeria’s latest centurion, Ahmed Musa, who earned his 100th cap with this fixture. Henry Onyekuru was also introduced in place of Moses Simon.
However, the Super Eagles earned the N20 million Air Peace chairman, Allen Onyeama, promised for victory through an own goal.
A lack of communication between defender Santos and keeper Vozinha, resulted in a back pass that left the goalie stranded as the ball crossed the line in the 76th minute to give Nigeria victory.
A couple of late substitutions and yellow cards after and final whistle confirmed the win. Nigeria now has six points from two games, with a goal difference of three.
Liberia’s victory over the Central African Republic (CAR) brought them up to second with three points, while Cape Verde and CAR complete the group as third and last, respectively.
Next up for the Super Eagles is a home game against the CAR on Saturday, October 9, while Cape Verde will take on Liberia.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
