The Super Eagles played out a 1-1 draw with the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matchday eight encounter at the Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein on Tuesday night. Completesports.com’s ADEBOYE AMOSU appraises the performance of the players in the game.
Stanley Nwabali 7/10
The Chippa United goalkeeper made a number of key saves in the game. Had a good command of his area too.
Ola Aina 2/10
The Nottingham Forest defender was replaced early in the game by Bright Osayi-Samuel due to an injury.
William Troost-Ekong 4/10
The captain scored an own goal in the game. He was replaced by Bruno Onyemaechi after the break.
Benjamin Fredrick 8/10
The young centre-back showed maturity beyond his age in the encounter. He was one of Nigeria top performers on the night.
Calvin Bassey 8/10
A superb performance from the Fulham defender . Bassey scored Nigeria’s only goal in the 45th minute.
Wilfred Ndidi 6/10
The Besiktas midfielder gave his best in the game. He was replaced by Christantus Uche 13 minutes from time.
Alex Iwobi 5/10
Toiled hard to make an impact in the keenly contested tie. He lasted 90 minutes on the pitch.
Read Also:2026 WCQ: Super Eagles’ Hopes Stall After 1-1 Draw With Bafana
Fisayo Dele-Bashiru 7/10
A good display from the Lazio midfielder. The 24-year-old set up Calvin Bassey for Nigeria’s only goal.
Moses Simon 4/10
The winger failed to make much impact in the game.
Ademola Lookman 4/10
Featured for 90 minutes in the game. He wasted a good chance to score the winning goal for Nigeria four minutes from time.
Cyriel Dessers 3/10
An underwhelming performance from the Panathinaikos new signing. He replaced at half-time by Tolu Arokodare.
Substitutes
Bright Osayi-Samuel 6/10
Took the place of injured Ola Aina early in the game. Put up a good showing despite picking up an injury.
Tolu Arokodare 6/10
The Wolverhampton Wanderers new signing pushed the Bafana Bafana defence following his introduction. Came close to scoring early in the second half.
Bruno Onyemaechi 5/10
Came in for William Troost-Ekong after the break, and put up an impressive display.
Christantus Uche 3/10
Not an impressive competitive debut for the Crystal Palace new signing. He played to the gallery for much of the 20 minutes he spent on the pitch.
Samuel Chukwueze 3/10
He replaced Moses Simon with 12 minutes remaining on the clock. The 26-year-old failed to impress following his introduction.
3 Comments
From my assessment base on past experiences the only SE materials in that team are ; Aina, Federick , Bassey, Osayi Dele Bashiru , Arokodare , Osihmen , lookman, and Nwabali , the following should be replaced : ( Ndidi, Ekong , Iwobi, onyemachi, Chukeweze and , Moses Simon ) the following should be giving more time for proper assessment; ( Christatus, Rapheal onyedika , Dessers, Felix Agu ) . We need to go find players with national team qualities. Clubside and national not same standard.
The NFF must go back to the drawing board. This is pathetic for Nigeria to miss back to back world cups. Some players are dead weight.
Chelle, you put yourself in this situation..
Judging by matches played under yiu, Only 40% of invited players merit invitation..
Nwabali, Aina, Frederick, Bassey, Semi, Agu, Onyedika, Dele, Lookman, Osimhen, Arokodare,..
It’s left to you to decide on recycling failures and undeserving players that have continued to disappoint in big matches..
An attacking MF with no assist or goals in WCQ can’t be relied on in must win matches
A defender with no clean sheet in recent matches can’t lead this team