The Super Eagles of Nigeria defeated Lesotho 2-1 in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matchday nine encounter in Polokwane on Friday night. Completesports.com’s ADEBOYE AMOSU appraises the performance of the players in the keenly contested game.
Stanley Nwabali 4/10
A poor display by his standard. The shot stopper was at fault for the only goal conceded by Nigeria in the game.
Benjamin Fredrick 6/10
Showed his versatility by filing in at right-back. A good performance from the young defender.
William Troost-Ekong 6/10
The captain opened scoring for his side from the penalty spot. His experience was crucial in the hard-earned win.
Calvin Bassey 6/10
Not influential as he was in the previous game. The Fulham man still did enough to help his side win the game.
Bruno Onyemaechi 6/10
Performed his defensive task well, but didn’t contribute much in attack.
Wilfred Ndidi 6/10
The Besiktas midfielder was partly at fault for Lesotho’s goal. Unlucky not win a penalty for his side.
Alex Iwobi 6/10
A lively display from the versatile midfielder. He was one of Nigeria’s top performers on the night.
Read Also:2026 WCQ: Super Eagles Boost Qualification Hopes With Hard-fought 2-1 Win Vs Lesotho
Ademola Lookman 5/10
The winger struggled to make much impact in the game. He was replaced by Samuel Chukwueze in the 71st minute.
Moses Simon 5/10
A subdued display from the Paris FC winger.
Tolu Arokodare 5/10
A disappointing outing from the striker. He was replaced by Jerome Adams Akor two minutes after the hour mark.
Victor Osimhen 6/10
He provided the assist for Nigeria’s second goal scored by Jerome Adams Akor.
Substitutes
Jerome Adams Akor 6/10
The Sevilla striker scored Nigeria’s second goal after replacing Tolu Arokodare. A solid debut for Akor.
Samuel Chukwueze 3/10
He didn’t contribute much following his introduction.
Zaidu Sanusi
Not Rated
Semi Ajayi
Not Rated
2 Comments
A 7 for Federico Benjamin pls, boy has played 3 straight matches and I’m yet to see any mistake from him, iwobi also deserved minimum 7 and VO.
What’s it with the team collapsing each time VO got substituted? And what’s the logic behind the coach taken him off even while no injury? 1 leg VO shd finish any match pls as his remover always give the opponent momentum to attack us.
This group on paper look like the easiest but how do we explain the fact the top team might end up with 17pts after possible 30?.
If Eric insist on playing two top strikers, then he shd pair Akor Adam’s with osimhen, not bcos he scored today but to boost his confidence, look like boy confidence is high right now, u dnt score against Barca and cap with such a well taken goal in a week with low confidence.
Do you understand that a player can get tired? Or a team need to be rotated because players play 3 matches in between 7-8 day?
I agree with almost every other things you raised but I just want to add that the Super Eagles (like all the Nigerian national teams) doesn’t have a coach. These ‘coaches’ and the NFF are the problem of all Nigerian Football Teams