Liberia 1 Nigeria 2: George Weah plays friendly against Nigeria at 51

Liberia president George Weah made a thrilling return to international football when he featured in a friendly game with Nigeria on Tuesday evening.

Weah led the Liberia attack, but the former Chelsea and Manchester City forward could not remake the kind of performance which earned him the World Player of the Year award in 1995 as a strong Nigerian team beat Liberia 2-1 winners in Monrovia.

The 51-year-old, who was elected as president in January 2018, wore his famous number 14 jersey – which was retired after the arranged friendly in his honor – and was joined by former Lone Star team-mate and current national team manager James Debbah on the field.

The Super Eagles took the lead after 12 minutes when Everton’s on-loan Galatasaray striker Henry Onyekuru found the top corner before Crotone forward Simeon Nwankwo doubled the advantage for Nigeria just after the half-hour mark with a well-timed header.

Stoke midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo and Leicester duo Wilfried Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho, who all featured at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, played some part in the fixture as Nigeria looked set for a routine victory at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium.

However, there was still time for a panic-stricken finale as Rotherham center-back Semi Ajayi handled in the penalty area, which was converted to halve the deficit with three minutes remaining, but the Eagles held on.