By Safiu Kehinde
The Super Eagles of Nigeria took another step closer to 2022 World Cup qualification after edging past Liberia in Tangiers, Morocco on Saturday evening.
Gernot Rohr’s men faced the Lone Stars of Liberia in a must-win match after Cape Verde had earlier defeated Central African Republic to keep pressure on the Super Eagles.
The match started on a brighter note for the Super Eagles and they did not hesitate to find the opener which nearly came in the 8th minutes, but the shot was deflected.
Eventually, Super Eagles broke the deadlock 14 minutes into the game when a Liberian player committed a foul in the penalty box. Nigerian striker, Victor Oshimen, stepped forward to take the penalty. He neatly placed the ball into the net — beyond the goalkeeper’s reach.
Nigeria kept pressing high and were on the verge of making it two via Victor Oshimen. But the Napoli man had his shot placed wide as he tested Liberia’s goalkeeper, Boisson Wynney. He made another attempt on goal which also went off target before the end of the half-time.
The second half was a different ball game as the Super Eagles had to soak in pressure from the Lone Stars. It was a fierce contest between the two teams with Super Eagles trying to hold on to their one goal lead.
With three minutes of extra time left, the game was at the dead end before Liberia committed another foul in the penalty box. Their goalkeeper was shown a yellow card for the foul as second half substitute, Ahmed Musa came to the fire to seal Super Eagles’ victory with another well taken penalty.
Meanwhile, Cape Verde’s win earlier before the Liberia’s match denied the Eagles of qualifying from the group stage tonight. With two points ahead of Cape Verde, the qualifier will be decided in the final match of the group stage. Nigeria will take on the second placed Blue Sharks in Lagos where they either win or draw against Cape Verde.
