THUR NOV 13 2025-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s super striker Victor Osimhen scored two brilliant individual extra-time goals to send the Super Eagles into the World Cup African Play-Offs final.
Osimhen’s two goals on Thursday at the Stade Prince Moulay El Hassan Stadium in the Morocco, comes after his 5 goals in last 3 qualifiers.
A remarkable game, with over 130 minutes played in the thrilling play-of game follows Nigeria’s several off-field issues from poor hotels to unpaid bonuses.
The first half ended in a stalemate following a goal a piece for Nigeria by Akor Adams in the 78th minute and Mario Lemina in the 89th minute, to send the game into extra time.
Chidera Ejuke put Nigeria ahead shortly after the second half kick-off, in the 97th minute. Midfielder Wilfred Ndidi drove forward and snicked the ball into the path of Ejuke to score his first goal for Nigeria, to make it 2-1.
From then on, it was Osimhen’s show. He scored in the 102nd minute and then grabbed the winner in the 110th minute to ensure the emphatic win for Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
Nigeria will now face the winner of the match between DR Congo and Cameroon on Sunday. (currently on) in the Moroccan capital on Sunday to decide which country advances to the World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament, which will feature two finals where the winners of the two semi-finals between the unseeded teams will face the two seeded teams, with the eventual winners securing two spots at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The African Play-Offs winners will join Bolivia (CONMEBOL) and New Caledonia (the OFC), plus teams from Asia and Concacaf, at the six-nation Play-Off Tournament during the international match window from 23 to 31 March 2026.
Nigeria are the highest ranked among the four teams in Morocco this week but only just squeezed onto the list of the four best runners-up across the nine African qualifying groups for the 2026 finals.
The last goal in their 4-0 win over Benin in Uyo last month proved enough to secure them a spot, and they go into the playoffs with a marked improvement in form after a slow start to their qualifying campaign, which saw them fail to win any of their first four group matches.
Gabon collected 25 points, with eight wins and a draw in their 10 Group F matches, finishing one point behind Côte d’Ivoire.
They will be hoping that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has kept his scoring boots on after the four goals he netted against The Gambia last month.
DR Congo finished two points behind Senegal in their group, while Cameroon were four points adrift of Cabo Verde.
The Indomitable Lions and Leopards have a long history of crunch encounters behind them but have not played a full international against each other in a decade, not since a 2015 friendly in Belgium that ended in a 1-1 draw.
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