The Super Eagles of Nigeria, on Saturday at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, defeated the Cheetahs of Benin Republic 3-0 in their first game of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying series.
A brace from Ademola Lookman, and a goal from Victor Osimhen were enough to keep the Super Eagles on top of Group D with three points.
Lookman scored at the 45th minute to give the host a comfortable lead before the half time.
Victor Osimhen came off the bench to extend the lead at the 78th minute, before Lookman finally sealed the victory at the 83rd minute for the Super Eagles.
The victory has raised the hope of the national team, and the technical director, Coach Augustine Eguavoen, of qualifying for the 2025 AFCON.
Eguavoen took charge of the Super Eagles, for the qualifying matches against Benin Republic and Rwanda, following the disappointing withdrawal of Bruno Labbadia, who was earlier appointed to coach the Super Eagles.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Ibrahim Gusau blamed Labbadia’s exit on tax issues, which he said, the federation could not offset.
He explained that the issue of offsetting the coach’s tax was not part of the initial agreement before the announcement of his appointment.
Nigeria will be playing the next AFCON qualifying match with Rwanda in Kigali on September 10, 2024.
