Nigeria finished off their qualifiers for next year’s Total Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) unbeaten following a 3-0 victory over Lesotho at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos on Tuesday.
The Super Eagles devoured the Crocodiles courtesy of goals by Victor Osimhen, Oghenekaro Etebo, and in-form Paul Onuachu.
Osimhen opened Nigeria’s goal account for the day in the 23rd minute before turning into the provider in the 50th minute for Etebo to make it 2-0.
Second-half substitute, Onuachu, who took the place of Osimhen, then wrapped up the scoring with a sumptuous volley on 83 minutes to hand the Super Eagles a comfortable win on the occasion of their first competitive match in Lagos in 20 years.
For many of the players, it was the first time in a long while that they would be playing football in a stadium with that many spectators, as a few thousand fans were allowed into the Teslim Balogun Stadium, while for fans who trouped into the match venue, especially those old enough to recall matches involving the national team at the derelict but still imposing National Stadium, it was a performance close to what they would have expected from the Nigerian team of that long-ago era when visiting teams dreaded playing before Lagos fans.
Nigeria headed into the encounter having already secured their place at the biennial tournament, scheduled for Cameroon.
Coach Gernot Rohr made a few changes to the team that started their 1-0 victory over the Republic of Benin at Stade Charles de Gaulle on Friday.
The German tactician handed starts to Francis Uzoho Etebo and Tyronne Ebuehi, who did not feature against the Squirrels in Porto Novo.
Iwobi also returned to the starting XI after missing his side’s last outing as he tested positive for Covid-19, but was cleared to play against the Crocodiles by Caf after testing negative for the coronavirus.
The Super Eagles started the encounter impressively, dominating the opening 30 minutes and came close to opening the scoring in the 15th minute when Osimhen beat Lesotho goalkeeper Sekhoane Moerane after a fine combination with Kelechi Iheanacho, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
The West Africans continued to push for the opener and deservedly got it in the 22nd minute when Osimhen hit the back of the net with a fine effort.
The Napoli forward has now bagged five goals for the three-time African champions in the qualifying campaign.
Rohr’s men made several efforts to try and increase their lead before the half-time break but the Crocodiles frustrated their effort to keep the scoreline at 1-0.
After the restart, the West African giants continued with their dominating display with Iwobi firing a fine shot from the edge of the box but failed to ruffle Lesotho goalkeeper Moerane.
Etebo thereafter doubled Nigeria’s lead in the 50th minute after pouncing on a loose ball and the Super Eagles were close to increasing their lead three minutes later when Samuel Chukwueze beat his marker before unleashing a shot, but it narrowly missed the target.
Eight minutes before the end of the game, Genk forward Onuachu scored to seal the victory for the three-time African champions to end their campaign on a high.
Nigeria have now qualified for the last two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations after failing to feature in the 2017 outing.
