- Safiu Kehinde
Super Eagles have suffered a major setback in bid to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as Zimbabwe steals point in 1-1 Draw.
The Nigerian national team had hosted the Zimbabwe at the Godswill Akpabio International stadium on Tuesday for the second round of the qualifiers.
However, the Eric Chelle-led Super Eagles failed to maintain the momentum built from last week’s victory against Rwanda at Kigali as they endured a frustrating goalless first half.
The second half saw the Super Eagles tried shrug off their shaky start as attempts to break the deadlock proved abortive.
Galatasaray forward, Victor Osimhen, would eventually reignite Nigerians hope for qualification as he found the back of the net in the 74th minute.
With Lesotho scoring a leveller against Rwanda and South Africa doubling its lead against Benin Republic, Nigeria leapt into the second spot with nine points.
Zimbabwe would, however, pulled a shocking stunt in the 90th minute as the second half substitute, Tawanda Chirewa, put the ball past Super Eagles goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, to bring the game to a leveller.
With Nigeria failing to score in the injury time, the game ended in a frustrating 1-1 draw which saw Nigeria return to fourth place with seven points out of six games.
The draw has dented the Super Eagles hope of qualifying as they are now six points behind table topper, South Africa.