Victor Osimhen is delighted with his overall contribution in Nigeria’s U-23 Eagles’ 4-1 victory against Libya in the second leg of the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying tie at the Stephen Keshi Stadium Asaba on Monday, reports Completesports.com.
Osimhen who is loan at Belgium club Sporting Charleroi from Wolfsburg of Germany scored thrice and provided an assist in the game.
The U-23 Eagles edged the clash 4-2 on aggregate having lost the first leg 2-0 last week Wednesday in Tunisia.
“I feel great, it is important for us to get the win and also make it to the next round of the qualifiers,” an elated Osimhen told reporters after the game.
”I am happy that my three goals and assist were enough for the team to get the win against the Libyans.
“We must build on the momentum and keep on going because we are not there yet.”
The former Nigeria youth international also have kind words for head coach of the side Imama Amapakabo and the fans who stood behind the team all through the game.
“We were optimistic of turning things around despite coming with a 2-0 deficit. Kudos to our coach who gave us the belief and the fans for their massive support.”
Nigeria will face either Sudan or Kenya in the final qualifying round.
Sudan will take a 2-0 lead to the second leg on Tuesday in Nairobi.
Egypt will host the third edition of the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations in November with the top three teams from the competition advancing into the football event of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
By Adeboye Amosu
3 Comments
Well done boy. Some of us expected a whooping scoreline.
Before the match,in this forum, I was already calling for a friendly btwn dis team& d Senior team.
Terrific players, arguably more talented than their seniors.
And mind you,there are still more dat were not called up.
Some us eg look at Osimhen and scoff,saying if he that good,why wud “ordinary” Wolfsburg loan him? You see,we don’t know and are not willing to know how hard it is for these boys in Europe. Don’t miss my point,not that the football or tactics are hard,I mean Africans gaining acceptability is not easy.There are laws in some countries dat u MUST have a parent or guardian in order to play.How do u get dis,when u are d first person in ur family to travel out? You know and other laws.Also most of those countries want their own players to grow too,racism is not completely dead too.
So u see, is it Nwakwali on loan at Porto B team and u scoff at him- sir u are part of d problem.
Our U-23 players can play in beta teams dan they are in now, with their experience and talent,but d system is not friendly.
Did u expect Gendhouzi of Arsenal to perform as brilliantly as he does in Arsenal? U think we don’t have U-23 (or even U-20) players dat can do more? My broda we do. Football itself in Europe is a piece of cake for our boys,but it’s d system dat mitigates against dem& shuffles dem into teams dat dey are even too gud for and many Nigerans start saying d players have lost quality,whereas d players’ quality is still intact (and improved sef), but d above I have said won’t give Dem wat they deserve.
Pls don’t just talk. Do proper fact-finding b4 u talk.
I still await dat friendly match. It wud be lyk experience vs talent.
Let us say d truth,a lot of those U-23 are gud enof for d Senior team,even experience wise.
@ Adeboye Amosu, this your report they funny. is it 4:1 or 4:0 in the second leg ?
@Oge u r absolutely on point,our players face lots of issues in Eaurope such that frustrate them that they wish to quit.You see the same problem Kele is facing at Leic right now.I will be the last man to agree that Kele is either finished or lazy,rather Kele has found himself in bad system in Leic and he’s made to pay the prize for the sins of the entire team.Look at the situation where even their biggest striker has not scored 11 premier league goals.That is because the entire team is doing badly,there is no balance in the team.Rather than find a solution my brother is being criticised of playing badly, how!How do u play badly when u have not been given a chance to show wat u can do.We need always to rally round our players in Eaurope even when they r not doing well considering wat they go through and Kele inclusive.#Nigeria is great #Kele for live.