- Safiu Kehinde
The Super Eagles have kept Nigeria’s hope of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup alive as they crushed Gabon in 4-1 victory.
Having secured a spot in the top four second best placed team in the group stage, the Nigerian national team faced off with Gabon in Rabat, Morocco.
Despite their dominance, the Super Eagles failed to open the scoring account in the first 45 minutes as Gabon clamped down the Nigerian side’s attacking threat.
The Eric Chelle-led team maintained their dominance in the second half but still failed to break the deadlock until the 78th minute Sevilla’s forward, Akor Adams, put Nigeria on the lead following defensive blunder from Gabon.
The Gabonese would however steal a leveller in the 89th minute as a Bright Osayi’s defection of Lemina’s shot beats Super Eagles’ goalkeeper.
Super Eagles would regain their lead in the first of extra time goals from Christian Ejuke and Victor Osimehn in the 97th and 102nd minutes respectively.
Osimehn would seal Super Eagles’ win in the final 15 minutes of the game to bring the game to 4-1 tally.
The victory would see Super Eagles face the winner between Cameroon and DR Congo for the intercontinental play-off ticket.