Nigeria shook off chaos in their camp to beat Gabon in extra time and book their place in the CAF World Cup 2026 qualifying final on Sunday.
Victor Osimhen scored twice in extra time to help Nigeria secure a comfortable 4-1 win and continue their bid for a place in next year’s FIFA World Cup in North America.
After a series of missed chances, especially in the first half by the Super Eagles, Akor Adams took advantage of a defensive error by Aaron Abendangwe to pounce on a weak back pass and round goalkeeper Luis Mbaba to put Nigeria ahead with less than 15 minutes remaining.
However, with one minute remaining in normal time, the Gabon national team forced extra time with an unexpected goal, as Mario Lemina’s shot deflected off Bright Osei Samuel and beat Stanley Nwabali, breathing unexpected life into Gabon’s World Cup hopes that seemed dead and buried.
Osimhen had the chance to almost finish off the game again with the final kick of the game in 12 minutes of stoppage time, but one of the world’s most lethal strikers somehow missed his shot just wide of the goalkeeper.
But he was not kept around for long, and in extra time, the striker – once again – took the lead for Nigeria, scoring twice to put the game to bed, after Chidera Iyoke had put Nigeria ahead.
The Super Eagles now qualify for the final where they will face the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who beat Cameroon 1-0, for a chance to win the African qualifiers on Sunday.
province? Which province?
Nigeria continues to remain in ambiguity and confusion. A day ago, it looked as if their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup had been thrown into the dustbin, with the camp in chaos over a bonus row with the federation after players boycotted training to press their demands for bonus payments.
For many other teams, missing just one day of full training out of three would have sounded the death knell for their hopes. Not Nigeria, who are well accustomed to this kind of off-field drama.
Their first half performance was reminiscent of some of the team’s best days. They dominated the Gabonese side with more possession, more shots on target, more chances created, and should have been at least two or three goals ahead in the first half if not for some goalkeeping inspiration from Mbaba.
All this intensity had a negative effect in the second half, but the Super Eagles, who looked exhausted, completely outplayed the Gabon national team. At least until Accor’s target. They lost the ball, barely stringing three passes together and allowed the Panthers to run them ragged.
Even after the goal, they continued to look disjointed and Lemina’s goal was the result. Substitute Chidera Ejoke failed to follow the striker, and with all that space, Lemina had all the time to put his shot in, and the off-balance Osai Samuel was unable to clear the ball into the net.
But the Nigerians overcame that in extra time and looked like they had been given a second chance. Ejoke made up for his terrible performance, sending Wilfred Ndidi’s through ball into the net to put Nigeria’s noses in front and announce Osimhen’s bid.
For three of four quarters of football, Nigeria did not look like the team they were in disarray just 48 hours earlier. And not for the first time. Maybe they need more of that before Sunday’s final.
Osimhen remains the man to beat
Nigeria can continue to thank their lucky stars for Galatasaray’s Osimhen, not only for the quality of goal-scoring finishing he provides (we conveniently ignore that horrific stoppage-time effort he missed), but also for the hustle, determination and drive he brings to the Super Eagles.
The former African Player of the Year is so influential that the Eagles are always guaranteed a result with him in the team.
Of the 14 World Cup qualifiers he played for Nigeria, the team lost only one, and that was in 2021 during the 2022 World Cup qualifying series against the Central African Republic.
Not only have they won nine of those matches, but they have never lost a match in which Osimhen scored in a World Cup qualifier. These matches ended in either a win, six in total, or a draw, in only two of them.
Adding the Africa Cup of Nations matches, including qualifiers, of Osimhen’s total 22 appearances, the Super Eagles won 15, lost three and drew four. When Osimhen scored or assisted, they did not lose a single match, winning 13 and drawing three.
Thursday’s goals put Osimhen just seven goals away from equaling the legend Rashidi Yekini on Nigeria’s top scorer record, and only eight goals away from surpassing the legend. It’s a fantastic achievement for the 26-year-old.
If Nigeria wants to qualify for the continental qualifiers, they will need Osimhen to either score or get an assist. It’s hard to bet against him regarding his current form.
The defenders showed their skills
In the last Africa Cup of Nations tournament, Nigeria reached the final thanks to a strong defense supported by William Troost-Ekong, Semi Ajayi and Calvin Bassey, and they were expected to build on that before the World Cup qualifiers resumed.
This never happened. Instead, the Super Eagles have leaked goals at will, conceding in all but three of their 10 matches.
They once again allowed a goal against Gabon, but it was their ability to stop Gabon’s threat from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Lemina that provided the foundation for their win.
Basie and the young Benjamin Frederick developed a partnership that seemed almost impregnable, with determination and pace. The young defender was particularly impressive, fending off Aubameyang and keeping him fearless with nothing to feed on but scraps.
The return of Zaidou Sanusi at left-back was also a huge boon for Nigeria. The Super Eagles have missed their solid, unyielding defense and willingness to attack forward.
Then there was Wilfred Ndidi, whose recent performance has been lukewarm. This is put it well. But on that night, the former Leicester man bounced back despite receiving an early yellow card.
His play was disciplined, composed and simple. He read well, shut down passing lanes, made himself available as an enforcer and was always the extra man wherever he was needed.
They felt a little trepidation, but when the game was still scoreless, VAR called for a review by the referee for pulling Osei Samuel’s shirt, but the referee, South African Tom Abogaile, decided, to the collective relief of hundreds of millions of Nigerians, and the dismay of tens of millions of Gabonians, that the penalty was not worth a penalty.
Beyond that, Gabon were unable to score a goal, and the fact that their goal came through an error from Ejoke, who failed to follow Lemina, shows how good the Nigerian defence is.
They will need all that and more against the DR Congo’s shenanigans on Sunday.
