A late Fisayo Dele-Bashiru strike earned a dominant Super Eagles a deserved 1-0 win against Libya in Group D of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, inside the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Friday, Completesports.com reports.
It was a game that saw the Eagles dominate from start to finish but were denied by a resolute Libyan defending.
But they eventually found the breakthrough as Dele-Bashiru stabbed home a superb cross from Moses Simon.
It is now two wins from three games )one draw) which takes the Eagles’ points to seven, scoring four goals without conceding.
The Eagles will now head to Benghazi for the second leg which comes up on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.
The Eagles started with a familiar starting line-up with Stanley Nwabali in goal, Ola Aina, William Troost-Ekong, Calvin Bassey, Bruno Onyemaechi in defence, Alex Iwobi, Frank Onyeka, Wilfred Ndidi in midfield while the trio of Moses Simon, Victor Boniface and Ademola Lookman in the attack.
In the 3rd minute a dangerous cross from Aina was headed away by a Libyan defender.
Four minutes later -Ekong headed down a set piece but the Libyan defence snuffed out the danger.
Iwobi almost opened the scoring on 11 minutes following a poor clearance inside the box by the Libyans but his left foot strike was stopped by the keeper.
In the 34th minute a dangerous cross from Simon saw the Libyan keeper punch the ball against his own player before the ball rolled out of danger.
The Libyans almost profited from a poor pass from Troost-Ekong on 36 minutes but the move was halted for offside.
With five minutes left in the first half Iwobi received a pass inside the box but his left foot strike was stopped by the keeper.
Two minutes of added time in the first half Boniface met a cross from Ademola Lookman but his effort took a slight deflection off a Libyan and rolled out for a corner.
Early in the second half the Eagles had a good chance as Bruno Onyemaechi broke on the left but his low cross was blocked away leading to Boniface colliding with the keeper which caused delay.
In the 56th minute Iwobi had a chance to open the scoring as he was left unmarked inside the box only your head his effort over the bar.
Three minutes later Iwobi had another chance but his acrobatic attempt went over the bar again.
With 20 minutes left Libya went on a counter but the effort was wasted.
Substitute Samuel Chukwueze would have given the Eagles the lead after beating his markers inside the box but saw his goal bound strike come off the keeper.
Few minutes later the AC Milan forward tried a low shot on the edge of the box but the keeper went down well to collect.
With seven minutes left Lookman thought he had opened the scoring after receiving a superb pass from Raphael Onyedika only to see his goal incorrectly ruled out for offside.
But the the Eagles were eventually rewarded on 86 minutes as Dele-Bashiru slotted home a cross from Simon.
The goal forced the Libyans to come out in search of the equaliser but the Eagles held on to claim the three points.
Meanwhile, the group’s other game saw Benin Republic thrashed Rwanda 3-0 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The result means Benin Republic are in second place on six points, Rwanda (two points) and Libya (one point) are third and fourth respectively.
By Sab Osuji, in Uyo
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Tijdens de kwalificatiewedstrijd voor de Africa Cup of Nations 2025 heeft Nigeria een dominante overwinning behaald op Libië dankzij een late goal van Tom Dele-Bashiru. De Super Eagles lieten zien dat ze in topvorm zijn en wisten hun tegenstanders te overklassen met een eindstand van 3-1.
De wedstrijd begon met Nigeria die al snel de leiding nam dankzij een vroege goal van Samuel Chukwueze. De aanvaller wist de bal in het net te schieten na een mooie combinatie met Victor Osimhen. Libië probeerde terug te vechten, maar de Nigeriaanse verdediging stond als een muur en hield de tegenstanders op afstand.
In de tweede helft wist Libië toch gelijk te maken dankzij een goal van hun sterspeler Mohamed Salah. De Egyptische aanvaller liet zien waarom hij tot de beste spelers van Afrika behoort en bracht de stand op 1-1. Het leek er even op dat de wedstrijd in een gelijkspel zou eindigen, maar Nigeria gaf niet op.
Met nog slechts enkele minuten op de klok wist Tom Dele-Bashiru de bal in het doel te schieten na een prachtige assist van Wilfred Ndidi. De Super Eagles namen zo opnieuw de leiding en gaven deze niet meer uit handen. In de blessuretijd wist Victor Osimhen zelfs nog een derde goal te maken, waardoor Nigeria met een overtuigende 3-1 overwinning van het veld stapte.
De late goal van Dele-Bashiru bezorgde Nigeria niet alleen de overwinning, maar toonde ook de veerkracht en vastberadenheid van het team. Met deze overwinning verstevigen de Super Eagles hun positie aan de top van de kwalificatiegroep voor de Africa Cup of Nations 2025. De fans kunnen dan ook met vertrouwen uitkijken naar het verdere verloop van de kwalificatiewedstrijden en het toernooi zelf.
