
Without hitman Victor Osimhen, the Super Eagles defeated Mozambique 3-2 on Monday, giving Nigeria its first friendly victory in five years.
Seven minutes into the match, Geny Catamo gave Mozambique the lead, sparking further worries that Nigeria’s winless streak in friendlies might continue.
However, Terem Moffi of OGC Nice scored a close-range goal 13 minutes later to give the Super Eagles a point at the Estádio Municipal de Albufeira in Albufeira, Portugal.
It was expected that Nigeria would take the lead even though they continued to control the majority of the play. At the halfway point, Frank Onyeka of Brentford pounced on a loose ball just at the outside of the box and scored! Eagles win 2-1.
Eagles Maximize Their Advantage
Although a shirt pull on Joe Aribo, who was headed for the goal, in the 37th minute reduced Mozambique to 10 men, it took Nigeria a few more minutes to score the third.
Simon Moses went up to take the penalty after the Mozambican Mambas player touched Fisayo Dele-Bashiru’s free-kick.
His penalty kick missed the bottom right corner and went in, giving Nigeria their third goal of the day. As Jose Peseiro’s team entered the locker room with a comfortable lead, the referee immediately blew the halftime horn.
Both teams attempted to score again when the second half resumed. However, Mozambique was the winner. Francis Uzoho was defeated by Faisal Abdul Bangal in a close call to cut the deficit.
In the latter parts of the match, Nigeria made a few adjustments, one of which involved Sadiq Umar. The Real Sociedad attacker was effective right away. He believed he had scored in the game’s 70th and 84th minutes, but the goals were offside.
The Super Eagles defeated the East Africans with four minutes remaining in regulation time to win their first friendly match since defeating Egypt 1-0 in March 2019.
Between that time and the game on Monday, Nigeria played fifteen friendlies. But throughout that time, they were able to draw eight and lose seven.
Saudi Arabia’s Tragedy
They were about to break their losing streak against Saudi Arabia three days ago but Mohammed Kanno’s deflected free kick at the very last moment crushed Nigerian hearts. Match score: 2-2.
Nigeria’s focus now is on its next matches against Lesotho’s Crocodiles and Zimbabwe for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
On November 13, 2023, the Super Eagles will play Lesotho at home before traveling to face the Warriors of Zimbabwe three days later.