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Few hours to the game, Nigeria’s place at the AFCON Finals was already certain due to the goalless draw played out between Lesotho and Sierra Leone. This scoreline meant that a draw was enough for both Nigeria and Benin Republic to go through to the AFCON Finals in Cameroun, however, Onuachu had other ideas. The game started off very slowly but with Nigeria taking the initiative. The Beninoise were very conservative in their approach as they preferred to sit back and only proceed to the Nigerian goal when they had the chance. On the other hand, Nigeria worked their game plan perfectly from defence but couldn’t make anything out of it in the final third on a pitch that hindered the free flow of possession. Victor Osimhen was the brightest in the first half with a series of chances and half-chances but he was unable to convert them. The second half saw Nigeria control proceedings throughout the encounter much. In the 56th minutes, Osimhen came close to breaking the deadlock but his low driving shot could only find the upright and zaidu’s rebound was blasted well over the bar.
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In the 69th minute, the man who would win the match for the super eagles was brought in to replace in-form Kelechi Iheanacho who was fairly quiet throughout his time on the pitch. Also, in the 80th minute, Anayo Iwuala made his debut for Nigeria and as usual, he did not disappoint with just ten minutes. With Anayo on the left and Samuel Chukweze on the right, the super eagles upped the ante with three additional minutes of the game remaining and this resulted in a corner kick. The said corner kick was driven in by Zaidu, met with a scramble in the Beninoise’ 18-yard box but Paul Onuachu had the final touch that broke their hearts. Onuachu’s goal seals Nigeria’s place at the top of the group and also breaks an eight-year unbeaten home record of Benin Republic. All focus now turns to the final group game on the 30th of March 2021, a return to Lagos state, against Lesotho at the Teslim Balogun Stadium. Featured Image Source: @SSE_NGA – Twitter
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