The Super Eagles of Nigeria played out a disappointing 1-1 draw with South Africa in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying clash at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium on Friday night.
The team needed a win by 2-0 to go top of the Group C but they failed to grab the maximum points in front of their fans in Uyo.
Finidi George opted for a 4-4-2 formation, Paul Onuachu and Ademola Lookman were saddled with the goalscoring responsibilities upfront.
Both sides started the encounter in with decent chances in the opening 10 minutes.
In the seventh minute, Lookman’s shot hit the side-netting before Nwabali made a good save to deny the South Africans the opportunity for an early shower in the 10th minute.
Themba Zwane opened the scoring for the Bafana Bafana with a fine individual effort in the 30th minute against the run of play.
South Africa goalkeeper, Williams produced a stunning save to deny Paul Onuachu towards the end of the first half.
The Super Eagles came out for the second half with a renewed vigour and they quickly got themselves back in the game with arguably the first kick of the second half.
Fisayo Dele-Bashiru finished expertly in the box from Alex Iwobi’s pass to make it 1-1 immediately after the restart.
Substitute Samuel Chukwueze hit the crossbar in the 75th as the hosts tried to find the winner.
The implication of this result is that the Super Eagles currently sit fifth on the table with three points from three matches.
Lesotho are on top of the group with five points from the same number of matches, the trio of Rwanda, Benin Republic and South Africa have four points apiece.
Up next for the Super Eagles is an away clash against Benin Republic on Monday, while South Africa will return home to face Zimbabwe on Tuesday.
Fans Disappointed As Super Eagles Fail To Defeat South Africa In Uyo is first published on The Whistler Newspaper