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Super Eagles of Nigeria are the latest national team to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after recording a 1-1 draw with Benin Republic.
The Benin Republic who hosted the Super Eagles in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, due to lack of an eligible stadium in their home country, looked more promising than the star-studded Super Eagles side during the encounter.
The compactness of the Beninese earned them their match opener as early as in the 16th minute of the encounter thanks to a strike from 27-year-old defender, Mohamed Tijani.
After the goal, the Cheetahs, as the coach Gernot Rohr’s men are fondly called switched more into the defensive style and relied mostly on counter-attacks to break into the Nigerian team’s penalty box.
Fortunately for Benin Republic, they went into the break with the slim lead and continued with their defensive style of football in the second half.
Coach Augustine Eguavoen made a series of changes to brighten the chances of the Super Eagles coming back into the game. The changes paid off as one of the second-half substitutes, Moses Simon crossed the ball into the penalty box for Victor Osimhen’s header in the 81st minute.
The goal was all the Super Eagles managed to get from the match as they struggled to contain the confident attacking moves of the Cheetahs.
Thanks to the 1-1 draw, the Super Eagles who will play their last game of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers on Monday, November 18, are currently topping Group D with 11 points in five games, four points above second-placed Benin. With this, the Nigerian side qualified for the tournament in Morocco regardless of the outcome of their match against Rwanda in Uyo on Monday.
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