Tawanda Chirewa, on the 90th minute of a frustrating match for hosts Nigeria, took advantage of slack marking from Nigerian skipper William Troost-Ekong to slip the ball past Stanley Nwabali in goal for a 1-1 draw that has most likely derailed any Nigerian chances of reaching the summit of Africa World Cup 2026 qualifying Group C.
Nigeria was brimming with confidence following the 2-0 win away to Rwanda last week, with home fans in Uyo expecting that momentum to be too much for Zimbabwe. And they started well with top marksman Victor Osimhen forcing a world class save from Washington Orubi following an Ademola Lookman corner.
Apart from that close shave, Lookman’s deliveries from corners were well below his high standards and Nigeria never seriously took advantage of the height of the 6’6″ Tolu Arokodare who replaced the wasteful Samuel Chukwueze just before the hour. Nigeria’s failure to breakdown the resolute Zimbabwe defence in the first half owed a lot to the Chukwueze’s chronically poor decision making.
Zimbabwe continued to pose a threat on the break despite their massed ranks in defence and grew in confidence after the Nigerians started running out of ideas as the first half wore on.
Nigeria started after the break like they did in the first half, attacking with intent, with several chances to open their account. Alex Iwobi could have scored from close range from a Moses Simon pass, but the ball was slightly behind him. Simon provided Nigeria’s most potent threat but he always seemed to be trying to win the match on his own.
The breakthrough came for the home side in the 74th minute when Arokodare laid the ball for Ola Aina on the overlap, and he found Osimhen at the back post with a perfect cross. The Galatasaray striker couldn’t miss from such close range.
Three minutes later, Zimbabwe showed they had refused to lie down and should have scored when a rebound off Nwabali was sent crashing on the crossbar and bounced on the line. At this point, the home team was beginning to feel sluggish perhaps from the 30 degrees heat.
Head in hands moment for coach Eric Chelle as Nigeria blow their lead.
As a tired and possibly injured Osimhen was being substituted in the 86th minute with Victor Boniface, he gestured to the defence to keep their concentration going with two fingers to his head. They failed woefully to heed his warning. To add insult to injury, group leaders South Africa won 2-0 away to Benin to extend their lead to 13 points. Nigeria is at fourth place with 7 points. There are four games left to play and each match is now a must-win final for Nigeria, as they hope the teams above them, including Rwanda and Benin, take points off each other.
