Benin 1 Nigeria 1: 'Air Osimhen' to the rescue, saves Super Eagles from embarrassing loss to Cheetahs

Nigeria's Super Eagles confirmed their place at next year's Africa Cup of Nations as winners of Group D of the qualifiers after a 1-1 draw against Benin's Cheetahs, courtesy of Victor Osimhen's late second half goal.

The Super Eagles began the game with a really positive start after a beautiful bit of olay between Lookman and Bruno Onyemaechi, releasing a cross from the latter who couldn't find any green shirt in the box.

Two minutes later, Osimhen was flagged offside after Wilfred Ndidi tried to pick him out from the midfield.

Benin Republic looked to respond in the fifth minute, with Bruno Onyemaechi giving away a corner.

However the delivery from the corner taker was very well dealt with by Calvin Bassey.

They kept up the pressure in the following minute but their build-up couldn't yield any results after a poor final pass.

The first goal beckoned in the eighth minute when Bruno Onyemaechi's cross came off the head of Osimhen, courtesy of a fantastic switch of play from Aina but Iwobi couldn't finish off the rebound and the ball was eventually cleared.

The hosts broke the deadlock in the 16th minute as Mohammed Tijani headed the ball past Stanley Nwabali courtesy of an assist from Junior Olaitan.

The Chippa United shot-stopper made a very rare mistake with his handling as the ball bounced in between his legs, for the game's first goal.

The 2023 AFCON silver medalists hoped to respond quickly in the nineteenth minute but Ademola Lookman's cross was expertly cleared by the Benin defence.

The Super Eagles almost got their reward in the twenty fourth minute when Kelechi Iheanacho released Ademola Lookman on the run, drawing a save from the opposition's goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou.

However, the Atalanta man was eventually flagged offside. Nigeria's defense looked very unstable and the Cheetahs continued to apply serious pressure.

Mohammed Tijani again could have handed the hosts a second goal from the corner in the twenty-sixth minute, but Onyemaechi came to the rescue with a sublime tackle.

Benin Republic's defense was tight and compact and dissolved every single attack from Nigeria.

The Super Eagles won a free kick in the thirty-third minute for a foul on Ola Aina. Iheanacho's delivery however, was very well dealt with by the Beninese defense.

It almost looked like Nigeria had restored parity to the game when Onyemaechi's cross met Victor Osimhen in the box, but the Napoli-owned forward made a complete waste of the opportunity, sending his header wide in the forty-first minute.

The second half saw Eguavoen ring in the changes as Raphael Onyedika came on for Kelechi Iheanacho and Gabriel Osho made way for Moses Simon, as the Super Eagles switched to a balanced 4-3-3 set up.

Four minutes in, Wilfred Ndidi gave away the free kick but it was blasted over the bar by the Cheetahs. Olaitan could have increased Benin's tally but a good amount of pressure from William Troost-Ekong ensured that he placed his shot wide of the margin.

Nigeria looked pretty disjointed as the second half progressed and in the fifty-sixth minute, Junior Olaitan again missed a glorious chance to increase his side's tally as he curled his shot wide of the post, after a a lapse in common in the Super Eagles defense.

Hope lurked on the hour marker when Alex Iwobi scrambled the ball towards the path of the incoming Bruno Onyemaechi, who fired a ferocious shot from outside the box, narrowly missing the target.

Victor Osimhen couldn't bring Ola Aina's cross under control in the 63rd minute, as it was an easy catch for Marcel Dandjinou in goal for Benin Republic.

Eguavoen decided that Alex Iwobi's day at the office was over, substituting him for Victor Boniface in the 71st minute.

Two minutes later, Moses Simon picked out Victor Osimhen in the box who tried to lob the ball past the Beninese goalkeeper but was unsuccessful.

The Super Eagles finally got the reward for their persistence in the eightieth minute as Osimhen headed in the equaliser after a cross from Moses Simon.

The goal saw the introduction of Bright Osayi-Samuel who came on for Ola Aina.

In a bid to win the game on the dying minutes, the Super Eagles won a corner in the 88th minute of play, but the delivery was punched away by the Benin goalkeeper.

Lookman made way for Frank Onyeka in added time. The Cheetahs didn't stop pushing before the final whistle, as their set pieces were either well dealt with by Nigeria's defense or ballooned over the crossbar.

The Super Eagles will now shift their focus to their next and final qualifying game, which is a return leg against Rwanda at the Godswill Akpabio stadium Uyo, after playing out a barren draw at the previous fixture in Kigali.

Ejim Kaycee

Copyright ANS
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from allnigeriasoccer.com