Ademola Lookman celebrated being nominated for the prestigious Ballon d’Or award as the World Footballer of the Year with two goals as Nigeria beat Benin 3-0 in the opening game of Group D in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Lookman continued where he left off last season in which he scored a stunning hattrick in the Europa League final for Atalanta and his three goals helped Nigeria reach the final of the Afcon in February.
Former Nigeria defender and coach Augustine Eguavoen was appointed on an interim basis to lead the Super Eagles for the fourth time last month and it was an unenviable task in the Afcon qualifiers after the team had made a hash of World Cup qualification. The supposed favourites had played four matches, drawing three and losing one in a group that includes South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and today’s opponents in Uyo, Benin.
Benin, coached by former Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr, would have approached this game brimming with confidence, having beaten Nigeria 2-1 in the World Cup in Group C of the World Cup qualifiers in June.
Nigeria started today dominating possession in the first half without making much headway as the final ball was woeful as usual. Victor Boniface was preferred by Eguavoen ahead of current African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen. The Victor from Leverkusen kept snatching at chances and was over-anxious to do well in the more famous Victor’s absence.
The uninspiring first half was eventually lit up in its dying minutes when Lookman collected an aimless lob from defender Semi Ajayi and brushed aside a Benin defender before going past three defenders with the help of a distracting run by Boniface, before slotting in the opener.
While the goal calmed Nigerian nerves, a spate of substitutions handed Benin the initiative in the second half as they moved from trying to contain the hosts. Stanley Nwabali in the Nigeria goal was forced into action a couple of times.
When Osimhen replaced Boniface, there was a sense of foreboding for Benin as they sensed he would leave his mark on the game, following a transfer saga that saw him leave Napoli only to end up on loan at Galatasaray in Turkey. Osimhen’s time came in the 78th minute from a cross from Wilfred Ndidi which he met on the half volley to make it 2-0. This was his 22nd goal in 36 games for the national team, placing him second in the national team scoring charts behind Rashidi Yekini.
Nigeria’s victory was assured by Lookman in the 83rd minute when he glanced in a header from Moses Simon’s cross.
Coach Eguavoen has delivered a victory that his country couldn’t buy for love or money for a months in World Cup qualifiers, with three goals to the bargain. Was he lucky? Was it a masterstroke to bring in as assistants Fidelis Ilechukwu, the coach of league champions Enugu Rangers and Daniel Ogunmodede from Remo Stars? The only thing beyond argument is that in Lookman Nigeria has a player willing to match his talent with effort and aggression. That combination is guaranteed to bring rewards.
