Osimhen decides, and Nigeria crushes Gabon and qualifies for the African qualifiers

With the VAR controversy and the place decided in extra time, Nigeria beat Gabon 4-1 and qualified for the 2026 World Cup African qualifiers. In normal time, the home team opened the scoring through Akor Adams, while Mario Lemina left things as they were. In extra time, Osimhen settled the score with two goals and Chidera Ejoke increased the Nigerians’ lead.

In the final phase of normal time, the referee went to VAR to analyze the shirt pull in the penalty area for Gabon, but he did not see any violation in the move. Thus, Nigeria is waiting for the winner of the confrontation between Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo to find out its next opponent. The African continental return match is scheduled to be decided next Sunday (16), at exactly four in the afternoon (Brasilia time), at the stadium. Moulay Hassan in Morocco.

Lack of purpose and lack of attacking accuracy

In the first 45 minutes, the home team was more dangerous, despite still having zero on the scoreboard. Bright Osei-Samuel took a risk from the edge of the penalty area, but he caught the ball too low and sent it over the crossbar. Osimhen, in turn, hit a very dangerous header that sent it to the left of the goal for Gabon, which was trying to enter the match and tie the score.

Aubameyang was the visitors’ most dangerous player, as he started well, but the offensive sector lacked accuracy in scoring goals. On the Nigerian side, Osimhen had three good shots over the top, but was poor at shooting and lacked the composure to find the back of the net.

Controversy and excitement until the end

After the end of the first half, the visitors gave their all and one move sparked a lot of controversy. The referee was forced to consult with the video assistant referee after he pulled the shirt in the penalty area and did not indicate a possible penalty kick for the Gabonese.

After this play, the match became more tied, without many concrete chances, until the Gabon defense made a mess. Akor Adams took advantage of the opportunity to take the goalkeeper out of the match and hit the ball into the net without any difficulty.

The Nigerians held on to the result to qualify for the qualifiers, but Gabon dreamed again. But Mario Lemina received it from the left side and looked for the shot, which went directly into the net after colliding with the defence. Osimhen had two great chances in front of goal, but was unable to secure the standings in regular time.

Nigeria book their place in extra time

In the first half of extra time, Chidera Ejuke received a good pass and shot into the right corner to increase the home team’s lead. Osimhen then disappointed when he struck with his foot to make it 3-1. Finally, the striker once again showed opportunism by exploiting the pass inside the area and closing the net in the final stage.

World Cup qualifiers

In total, six teams will compete in the global qualifiers, in March next year, in one venue. It will have one representative from South America, one representative from Asia, one representative from Africa, one representative from Oceania, and two representatives from North and Central America and the Caribbean.

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