In a twist of football fate, the Super Eagles, minus their key striker Victor Osimhen, secured a 3-2 victory over Mozambique on Monday, marking Nigeria’s first friendly game win in half a decade. It’s a rather peculiar situation; picture Africa’s giants celebrating a friendly match victory after five long years. It’s almost as if they should be handed an award for their tardy applause-worthy performance.
The drama unfolded early as Mozambique’s Geny Catamo stunned with a goal just seven minutes into the game, igniting concerns that Nigeria’s infamous friendly game losing streak might continue. However, OGC Nice’s Terem Moffi came to the rescue, leveling the score with a close-range shot 13 minutes later.
As Nigeria maintained dominance on the field, it came as no shock when Brentford’s Frank Onyeka capitalized on a loose ball at the edge of the box to fire in the second goal, putting the Eagles ahead at 2-1.
Things got even more interesting when Mozambique had a player sent off for a shirt pull on goal-bound Joe Aribo in the 37th minute. But Nigeria took their time, eventually securing a third goal through a penalty after a Mozambique player handled Fisayo Dele-Bashiru’s free-kick. Simon Moses expertly executed the spot kick, making it 3-1 for Nigeria, and the halftime whistle blew with Jose Peseiro’s charges comfortably in the lead.
In the second half, both teams vied for another goal, with Mozambique finally scoring through Faisal Abdul Bangal. He found the net near Nigeria’s goal, reducing the deficit.
The Super Eagles made some strategic changes later in the game, including the introduction of Sadiq Umar. Although he thought he had scored in the 70th and 84th minutes, his goals were frustratingly ruled offside.
After 90 minutes of play, four minutes of added time, and some nail-biting moments, the Super Eagles finally secured their long-awaited victory in a friendly match, ending a dry spell dating back to March 2019 when they defeated Egypt 1-0.
It’s been a rough ride for Nigeria, with fifteen friendly matches played since then resulting in seven losses and eight draws. Just a few days ago, they were tantalizingly close to breaking the jinx against Saudi Arabia, but a deflected free-kick in the dying moments denied them victory.
Now, the spotlight turns to the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, where Nigeria will face Lesotho’s Crocodiles and Zimbabwe’s Warriors. The Super Eagles will tackle Lesotho at home on November 13, 2023, before heading out to take on Zimbabwe three days later.
So, dear Nigerians, your Super Eagles: the enigmatic heroes we can’t quite figure out.
