AFCON qualifier: Osimhen hits hattrick, as Eagles wallop Sao Tome
Nigeria confirmed their leadership position in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Group A after walloping visiting Sao Tome 6-0 in Uyo on Sunday.
Napoli goal poacher, Victor Osimhen Opened the scoring for Nigeria in the 13th minute, scored a penalty in the 70th minute and in the 79th respectively as Atalanta forward also made good impression in the 27th minute while Taiwo Awoniyi and Samuel Awoniyi completed the routing in the 51st and 86th minutes.
Nigeria had qualified for the event since June 18 when they scraped a 3-2 victory over a resilient Sierra Leone side at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex.
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After falling two goals behind courtesy of a first-half brace from Victor Osimhen, John Keister’s men found their way back into the game through goals from Mustapha Bundu and Augustus Kargbo, but Kelechi Iheanacho struck in the 95th minute to hand the Super Eagles all three points.
Prior to that, Nigeria snapped their run of five consecutive defeats across all competitions on March 27, when they beat Guinea-Bissau 1-0 at the Estadio 24 de Setembro thanks to a first-half penalty from Moses Simon.
Nigeria, who are looking to conquer the continent for the fourth time and the first since their 2013 triumph, have now won four of their five games in the qualifiers, with a 1-0 loss against Guinea-Bissau on March 24 being the exception.