Nigeria has ended Benin Republic’s eight-year unbeaten run at home, when they completed the double over their West African rivals, in 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying game on Saturday.
Super Eagles waited till the last minute of the match to beat Squirrels of Benin Republic at Stade Charles de Gaulle, Porto- Novo on Saturday with Paul Onuachu’s late header giving a 1-0 win
The Nigerian team had come from a goal down last year to beat the Squirrels 2-1.
However, away from home, Gernot Rohr’s men found it tough, until the final moments of the game.
Final Whistle! Super Eagles have ended an 8-year record here. The Benin national team have lost. BEN 0-1 NGA #BENNGA #SoarSuperEagles #Team9jaStrong
— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) March 27, 2021
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Meanwhile, the three-time African champions already qualified ahead of the kickoff after Sierra Leone and Lesotho played out a few goalless draw and dealt the Squirrels their first home loss since 2013 late on in the game.
The Eagles started the match as the better side and had a couple of chances which they failed to convert. The best chance of the first half fell to Henry Onyekuru after a brilliant work down the left by Zaidu Sanusi but Benin goalkeeper, Saturnin Allagbe pulled off a brilliant save.
The second half started with the Eagles being the dominant side yet again. The Eagles got a couple of chances but couldn’t convert.
Enyimba’s Anayo Iwuala made his Eagles debut, coming on for Henry Onyekuru with 10 minutes left to play and had a good chance in the added minutes and opted to shoot despite having Victor Osimhen and Paul Onuachu waiting in the box.
Paul Onuachu broke the deadlock in the final minutes to win it for Nigeria after coming on for Kelechi “Seniorman Kels” Iheanacho in the 70th minute.
With one round of fixtures left, Nigeria lead Group with 11 points, four more than Benin, while Sierra Leone have four points, while Lesotho are bottom with three.
Read Also: AFCON Qualifiers: Super Eagles Arrive Benin Republic By Boat (Videos/Photos)
Nigeria will now ferry back to Nigeria tomorrow morning for their final group game against Lesotho on Tuesday in Lagos state while Benin will travel to Freetown to take on Sierra Leone in a march that would be a cracker as both sides would attempt to qualify.
Watch moment Onachu scored the goal;
The moment Paul Onuachu scored for the Super Eagles 😘😋#SoarSuperEagles #Team9jaStrong #BENNGA pic.twitter.com/RQa1LznAvH
— Sarafina Napoleon (@FinaNapoleon) March 27, 2021
