Super Eagles Defeats Benin, And Secure Qualification Ticket For The 2022 AFCON Tournament.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria have secured their qualification ticket for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
It was a record win for the Super Eagles on Saturday evening as they handed the Squirrels of Benin their first home defeat since June 2013 (8-years), a side they had defeated 2-1 at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium Uyo in November 2019.
The match which ended 1-0 at full-time, saw substitute Paul Onuachu grab a 94th-minute late winner through a loose ball from Victor Osimhen's shot, as Gernot Rohr's men triumph at the Stade Charles de Gaulle, Porto Novo.
On the other hand, It was a heartbreaking defeat for Benin who were just seconds away from getting a point they needed to book their spot at next year's continental showpiece.
CloudNine Sports understands that, despite loosing to Nigeria today, Michel Dussuyer's men still have hopes of qualifying as second in the group, as long as they avoid defeat when they face Sierra Leone in Freetown on Tuesday.
Nigeria had already qualified even before having to kick a ball following the goalless draw result between Lesotho and Sierra Leone earlier in the day in Meseru.
The three-time African champions, qualified as Group L winners and with a game to spare against Lesotho in their final AFCON qualifying game at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, as they look forward to clinching their fourth title next year in Cameroon.
They finished third at the last edition of the tournament in Egypt, behind winners Algeria and Senegal.
Meanwhile, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Comoros, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia and Zimbabwe have all qualified, leaving only seven more spots to be filled.
Paul Onuachu speaking after the game on scoring the only goal tonight;
"I want to say thank you to the nation for the push. They really pushed me to show what i have to show, and now i did it, I am so happy... Said the Genk striker.
"It's a lot of confidence for a striker to score, I just want to go the AFCON tournament and take it all".
🎥 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒:
— CAF (@CAF_Online) March 27, 2021
🇧🇯 Benin 0-1 Nigeria 🇳🇬
A goal in the dying minutes gifts the visitors all three points.#TotalAFCONQ2021 | @thenff | @NGSuperEagles | @Benin_FBF pic.twitter.com/5RRl3zbkMz
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