Victor Osimhen’s strike and Kenny Rocha Santos’ own goal helped Nigeria come from behind to beat Cape Verde 2-1 in their 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifying game.
It was a memorable outing for Ahmed Musa who made his 100th appearance for the Super Eagles while Malmo’s Innocent Bonke and Bolgona’s Kingsley Michael were handed starting debuts, in the absence of Wilfred Ndidi and Joe Aribo.
The Blue Sharks drew the first blood in the 19th minute after Dylan Dos Santos beat an offside trap to fire his left-footed shot past goalkeeper Maduka Okoye.
Five minutes later, Ryan Mendes tried to test the Super Eagles shot-stopper with another shot but it went off target.
Osimhen and Ejuke linked up a few minutes later as Nigeria kept pushing for an equaliser and the CSKA Moscow winger forced Cape Verde’s Vozinha to parry his long-range shot for a corner-kick.
Their push finally paid off as Osimhen capitalised on a defensive error to draw both teams levelled in the 29th minute.
Ejuke proved to be a threat to the Blue Sharks’ defence with his long-range efforts, he
Nigeria started the second half with a much higher tempo with Nantes winger Moses Simon winning a number of fouls for the visitors
Just before the hour-mark, Cape Verde coach Bubista opted to make double substitutions with Garry Rodrigues and.
Rohr, on the other hand, made his tactical changes in the 70th minute as Henry Onyekuru and Terem Moffi replaced Simon and Musa respectively.
Onyekuru made an instant impact but his effort lacked the power to beat Vozinha, however, they finally turned the game around after another defensive error again. Kenny Rocha Santos played the ball into his team’s net after the goalkeeper had left his position.
With three minutes left on the clock, Vagner Dias nearly cancelled the Super Eagles’ second goal but his header was slightly off target.
On Tuesday, Kpah Sherman helped Liberia beat the Central African Republic 1-0 with his 86th-minute effort in Douala.
Nigeria will shift their attention to next month’s double-header clash against CAR with the aim of extending their dominance in the group while Cape Verde have a date with Liberia in October.
