Nigeria’s Super Eagles ended their Africa Nations Cup qualifiers with an emphatic 3-0 win over Lesotho at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos on Tuesday night.
A goal each from Victor Osimhen, Oghenekaro Etebo and Paul Onuachu ensured the Eagles finished Group L with 14 points from six matches and also went unbeaten throughout the qualification phase, winning four and held twice in the double-header versus Sierra Leone last November.
It was a memorable moment for the national team as they returned to Lagos after a decade.
Head coach Gernot Rohr made some changes to the side that defeated Benin Republic on Sunday with goalkeeper Francis Uzoho replacing Maduka Okoye, and Tyronne Ebuehi and Alex Iwobi returning to the starting line-up.
And Rohr’s men gave a good account of themselves as Napoli striker Osimhen opened scoring in the 22nd minute, off a Kelechi Iheanacho pass.
The Crocodiles almost equalised in the 29th minute through Thabo Lesaoana’s free-kick, but Uzoho did well to parry the goal-bound strike over.
Six minutes into the second half, Etebo marked his return to the team with a goal, after he latched onto a loose ball before unleashing a scorcher that gave goalkeeper Moerane Sekhoane no chance.
Rohr made a double substitution with just 54 minutes on the clock as he brought on Zaidu Sanusi for Jamilu Collins and in the 74th minute, he introduced Onuachu as a replacement for Osimhen.
Etebo almost doubled his goal tally for the night as he unleashed another screamer from 22 yards, which went inches wide.
With just seven minutes to the end of the encounter, Genk forward Onuachu put the game beyond the visitors with another goal, having grabbed the winner on Saturday, in the 1-0 win over Benin Republic in Porto Novo.
Captain Ahmed Musa and Enyimba winger Anayo Iwuala were both brought on in the 86th minute for Kelechi Iheanacho and Samuel Chukwueze respectively as the Eagles dominated the encounter.
The Eagles continued to hold on to possession as they passed the ball around much to the frustration of the Crocodiles, before the final whistle, after the four additional minutes.
Osimhen, the Eagles’ highest scorer with five goals during the qualification phase, was voted the man of the match.
Gernot Rohr and his men will now shift their attention to the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, which get underway in May.
Credit: punchng.com
