Everton of England midfielder, Alex Iwobi put up a battling effort to redeem his image in the eyes of Nigerian football fans, but tried as he did, with two well-taken goals to boot, he could not save the Super Eagles from giving up a four-goal and they could only draw 4-4 at home against Sierra Leone.
Megasportsarena.com reports that, in what turned out to be one of the most bizarre matches ever played by the Eagles, Gernot Rohr’s side soared in the first half and slumped in the second, such that Iwobi’s rare brace of goals in green-and-white became insufficient.
The former Arsenal of England youngster will now hope for a better story this Tuesday during the second leg in Freetown, after he and his teammates failed to make the best of home advantage at an empty Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, where the Eagles were so dominant in the first half but poor after the break.
The three-time African champions scored four goals in the first half, with Iwobi putting them ahead in the 4th minute, after which SSC Napoli of Italy striker, Victor Osimhen pounced from close range on a Zaidu Sanusi cross to double Nigeria’s lead in the 21st minute.
Iwobi grabbed his second and Nigeria’s third goal of the evening with a superb strike from just outside the box, after 27 minutes played, following which Villarreal of Spain winger, Samuel Chukwueze made it 4-0 but Kwame Quee reduced the deficit to 4-1 with a minute left to play in the first half.
The second half was a different track, as The Leone Stars scored three goals inspired by Al-Hadji Kamara, following an injury copped by Osimhen and amid atrocious defending by Gernot Rohr’s side, who lost the opportunity of moving closer to clinching an early ticket to the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon.
