World Cup qualification roared back to life, Friday, at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, capital of Rwanda, as two un-replied first half goals by Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen, broke the back of the hosts and sealed victory.
The Super Eagles were under serious pressure as they went into the game without a win in four Group C matches, occupying the bottom of the table, with South Africa soaring at the top.
But the Nigerian national team put up a command performance at the Amahoro Stadium with a dominant start and scintillating first half that gave the new helmsman, Coach Eric Chille sweet victory in his very first game with the team.
Galatasaray striker Osimhen roared back to life, Friday, when, left unmarked, he darted to their opponents’ critical area and converted Ademola Lookman’s 11th-minute free-kick.
Lookman was a huge thorn in the flesh of Rwanda as his unrelenting deliveries into the box disorganized the hosts who had their goalkeeper, Fiacre Ntwari, to thank for his daring saves.
Osimhen, 26, scored his 25th goal for his country when he streamed clear from halfway and found a clever dinked finish to more-or-less put the result beyond doubt. The back-breaking goal came just as the hosts appeared to be warming to the contest in the closing stages of the first half.
Despite the heart-warming victory, Nigeria still have plenty of work to do as they sit fourth in Group C, a point behind a Rwanda side that they comprehensively outplayed.
Only the group winners go through automatically but Chelle’s men can make another dent in the points haul required when they host bottom team Zimbabwe on Tuesday. The Super Eagles are four points behind leaders South Africa.
