2022 FIFA WC: Super Eagles tread old path, hold Lesotho 1-1 in Uyo

Super Eagles

Nigeria, yesterday, at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, showed that they did not learn anything from their failure to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar when they huffed and puffed, only to hold lowly rated Lesotho to a 1-1 draw in their opening game of the 2026 World Cup qualifying series.

When the draw that pitted the Super Eagles against South Africa, Lesotho, Benin Republic, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe was made, many pundits believed the group was Nigeria’s for the taking.

The logic was simple: in the history of African football, these countries have never posed any threat to the Super Eagles. Head-to-head, Nigeria held the edge and with such tested players all over Europe, the belief was that only a disaster would cost the Eagles another ticket to the World Cup.

It is still early days, though, but from yesterday’s performance in Uyo, the Super Eagles need drastic changes to realise their 2026 dream.

Yesterday, Lesotho, ranked 113 places below Nigeria by FIFA, was the better team in the early minutes of the game, but the Super Eagles rallied from the 20th minute to dominate a first half that ended goalless.

As if they read the Super Eagles’ game plan (or lack of it), the Southern Africans came out in full force in the second stanza, with their wingers dictating their forays into Nigeria’s defence line. The first ominous sign by the Lesotho came in the 53rd minute when they raced towards Francis Uzoho’s goal and were poised to pull the trigger, only for Calvin Bassey to read the plot and avert the danger.

However, there was no stopping the Crocodiles in the 56th minute when they caught Super Eagles’ defenders napping.

A cross was played into Nigeria’s area; the defenders failed to deal with it, leaving