June 18, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s Super Eagles secured their spot in the TotalEnergies 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Sierra Leone at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Monrovia on Sunday.
The match started with Nigeria taking an early lead as Serie A capocannoniere, Victor Osimhen, skillfully lifted the ball above the approaching Sierra Leone goalkeeper in the 19th minute. Nine minutes later, Nigeria had an opportunity to double their advantage, but a shot from outside the box was deflected for a corner kick. Osimhen extended the lead in the 32nd minute, but Sierra Leone continued to threaten Nigeria’s defence, particularly from the right side.
Samuel Chukwueze had a goal disallowed for a foul, while Moses Simon’s close-range attempt was saved, resulting in a corner kick. However, Sierra Leone managed to half the deficit just before halftime, with Mustapha Bundu breaking through the Nigerian defence to score.
Nigeria faced some challenges in the second half as they pushed to create an extra goal cushion as goalkeeper Adeleye collided with an opposition player in the 54th minute while desperately trying to clear the ball. Sierra Leone capitalised on the situation and levelled the score at 2-2 with a long-range shot from Augustus Kargbo in the 84th minute.
However, in added time, Nigeria secured the victory when Kelechi Iheanacho scored the winning goal after an impressive run and a low cross from Zaidu Sanusi. With this win, Nigeria remains at the top of Group A in AFCON qualifying, having accumulated twelve points from five matches. Guinea-Bissau, who have also qualified, sit in second place with ten points.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
