Zimbabwe’s Warriors. Yesterday, at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, brought Nigerians back to the reality of the country’s football with a well executed counter-attacking game that earned them a 1-1 draw with the Super Eagles.
Coming the same day South Africa defeated Benin Republic 2-0 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, the draw all but put paid to Nigeria’s hopes of winning Group C of the African World Cup qualifying series and picking the sole ticket to the 2026 Mundial.
Many pundits had written off the Zimbabwean Warriors before the match because in five games, they were only able to get three points and sat bottom of the table. In their last home game against Benin Republic, they barely managed a 2-2 draw, which all but extinguished their hopes of qualifying for their first appearance at the World Cup.
However, yesterday in Uyo, they looked a different side, with a well-marshalled defence absorbing all that Nigeria threw at the them.
Nigeria had many chances to win the game in the first half, but a combination of poor marksmanship and bad decision making at crucial moments ensured the half ended goalless.
But star striker, Victor Osimhen, gave the Super Eagles the lead midway into the second half, before a last grasp equaliser by Tawanda Chirewa ensured the game ended 1-1.
Despite taking the lead, the Super Eagles failed to kill the game off. In the 76th minute, Zimbabwe came agonisingly close to an equaliser when Knowledge Musona saw his effort bounce off the underside of the crossbar after a mix-up in the Nigerian defense.
The Super Eagles would have doubled their advantage in the 83rd minute when Moses Simon found Wilfred Ndidi in space, but the midfielder sent his shot wide when it was easier to score with the left foot.
The Super Eagles would rue that miss shortly after, as Chirewa bamboozled William Troost-Ekong before poking the ball beyond Nwabali for a dramatic equaliser.
The result gave South Africa the chance to open a five-point lead in Group C following their 2-0 defeat of Gernot Rohr’s Benin Republic in Abidjan.
The Bafana Bafana claimed the win thanks to second half goals from Lyle Foster and Jayden Adams, with the result taking them to 13 points from six matches. In the third game of the group, Rwanda were held 1-1 by Lesotho in Kigali.
Rwanda are second in the group on eight points, tied with third-placed Benin, while Nigeria (seven), Lesotho (six) and Zimbabwe (four) make up the remainder of the log. Only the group winner will qualify for the World Cup automatically, but the second-placed team could stand a chance of playing in a play-off at the end of the group stage, to determine Africa’s 10th entrant at the World Cup.