Izuchukwu Okosi
Super Eagles poor results in international friendlies continued on Tuesday evening as they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Algeria at the Miloud Hadefi Stadium in Oran, reports Prime Business Africa.
The Eagles had faced the home-based Algerian national team side in a test game on Friday which ended in a 2-2 stalemate.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIn-form Lorient striker Terem Moffi put the Eagles ahead in the ninth minute but Algeria equalised through Manchester City forward Riyad Mahrez who converted a penalty after Frank Onyeka brought down an Algerian in the box four minutes before the halftime break.
The Desert Foxes who were completely dominant showed no signs of easing off and piled more pressure on the Nigerians.
The Algerians went 2-1 up through Youcef Atal who unleashed an unstoppable shot from 35 yards to the bottom right corner which Francis Uzoho was unable to save.
Taiwo Awoniyi, Cyreil Dessers, Raphael Onyedika and Godwin Saviour came off the bench but could not conjure any moments of magic to salvage the game for Jose Peseiro’s team.
The last time both sides who failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup met in a competitive game was in the semifinals of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. Algeria won on that occasion to reach the final.
The Eagles will regroup in November for an international friendly against Portugal on the 17th, there days before the 2022 FIFA World Cup begins.
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.
