WC Playoff: Osimhen Bags Brace In Extra Time As Nigeria Defeat Gabon

Victor Osimhen scored a brace in extra time as Nigeria defeated Gabon 4-1 on Thursday to qualify for the final of the World Cup playoffs in Morocco.

Eric Chelle made two changes to the side that defeated the Cheetahs of the Benin Republic 4-0 last month.

Stanley Nwabali retained his position in goal, with Calvin Bassey pairing with Benjamin Fredrick in front of him, while Osayi-Samuel and Zaidu Sanusi played as the full-backs.

Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, and Samuel Chukwueze took their places in the middle of the pack, while Akor Adams and Ademola Lookman were tasked with providing the ammunition for Victor Osimhen in the attack.

Nigeria started the game with intent and purpose, with Akor Adams missing an early chance to give the team the lead in the fourth minute.

The Gabon goalkeeper produced a stunning save to deny Victor Osimhen in the 21st minute as the Super Eagles created chances, but they were unable to break the deadlock.

Both sides failed to break the deadlock as the first half ended goalless.

The Gabonese started the second half with determination, and they rattled the Super Eagles, but they were unable to take advantage of their dominance in the early part of the restart.

Chelle made two substitutions in the 60th minute, with Ademola Lookman and Samuel Chukwueze coming off for Moses Simon and Chidera Ejuke.

The Super Eagles finally broke the deadlock in the 78th minute when Akor Adams took advantage of a mistake by a Gabonese defender to open the scoring for Nigeria.

The Sevilla striker scored two goals and three in his last three matches for Nigeria after scoring in the 2-1 win over Lesotho in the World Cup qualifiers.

But Mario Lemina restored parity for Gabon with a deflected effort in the 89th minute to make it 1-1.

Victor Osimhen missed a glorious opportunity when he was set up by Wilfred Ndidi, but his effort went off target with only the goalkeeper to beat.

The match went straight into extra time, with Chidera Ejuke restoring Nigeria’s lead after finishing off a pass from Wilfred Ndidi to make it 2-1 in the seventh minute of extra time.

It was his first-ever goal for Nigeria since making his debut for the Super Eagles in a friendly against Tunisia in 2020.

Osimhen made amends for his miss with a low finish past the Gabonese goalkeeper to make it 3-1 before the end of the first instalment of the extra time.

The Galatasaray forward further established his importance to the Super Eagles with another clinical finish in the second half of extra time to make it 4-1 in favour of Nigeria.

Osimhen has now scored 14 goals in 15 matches for club and country this season.

The Super Eagles will take on the winner between Cameroon and DR Congo in the playoff final on Sunday.