Nigeria currently walks on thin thread as qualification to the AFCON in 2022 in Cameroon will have to wait after Gernot Rohr and his men again failed to beat Sierra Leone in a rematch of last week’s 4-4 draw.
The two West African countries played out a scoreless draw at the Siaka Stevens Stadium in Freetown this evening.
Nigeria thus stayed top of Group L with eight points from four matches, while Benin are second with seven points after a goalless draw in Lesotho earlier today.
Sierra Leone are third on three points and Lesotho bottom on two points.
Today’s clash between the Leone Stars and the Super Eagles was in general a pedestrian game played on a most deplorable pitch.
Home team Sierra Leone carved out more chances in the first half, but early in the second half Kelechi Iheanacho, in for the injured Victor Osimhen, could have opened scoring for the visitors only to fluff his lines in front of goal.
Nigeria then suffered a setback just before halftime when their most outstanding player in Benin City, Oghenekaro Etebo, was forced out by injury to be replaced by Shehu Abdullahi.
Mustapha Dumbuya was the mainstay of the Sierra Leone defence and in the second half, the Leone Stars brought on more attackers including Anderlecht winger Mustapha Bundu to get the goal they needed to revive their flagging AFCON hopes.
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But instead it was Nigeria who finished the stronger as this qualifying group remains wide open with two rounds of matches to played in March 2021.
This article was most recently revised and updated 4 years ago