Izuchukwu Okosi
Nigeria’s chances of qualifiying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico suffered a significant blow Sunday evening as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Zimbabwe at the Huye Stadium in Rwanda, reports Prime Business Africa.
The Super Eagles could only secure same scoreline and result when they faced Lesotho in the first Group C game of the World Cup qualification campaign at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo last Thursday, and have thus lost four points from a possible six.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIn search of redemption, Peseiro made a raft of changes to the starting XI that featured against Lesotho, with Ola Aina replacing Bright Osayi-Samuel, Moses Simon, Joe Aribo and Terem Moffi starting and Bayer Leverkusen forward Nathan Tella handed a full debut.
Zimbabwe went ahead in the 26th minute from a long-range free kick by Walter Musona. The strike from 30 yards reduced the Zimbabwean to tears after over 18 months of inactivity by the Brave Warriors.
The Eagles were unable to produce any kind of threat barring a Moses Simon effort that saw the ball come off the crossbar.
However the three-time African champions equalized through Kelechi Iheanacho in the 67th minute who came off the subs bench to make a personal statement.
The Eagles bombarded the opposition half with relentless attacks but the hosts held on to pick up a vital draw.
Nigeria will be hoping for fourth Africa Cup of Nations title in Cote d’Ivorie between January and February 2024 but will return to the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June 2024 with a home fixture against South Africa before the trip to Cotonou for a clash with neighbours, Benin coached by former Nigeria coach, Gernot Rohr.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
