Super Eagles were held by the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde at Teslim Balogun Stadium, but they match on to the next stage
By Kehinde Okeowo
Nigeria went into today’s match against Cape Verde at the Teslim Balogun Stadium knowing a loss would mean elimination from the competition.
The visitors, however, must defeat the Super Eagles at home after coming from behind to beat the Central African Republic (CAR) on Sunday.
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Nigeria began the brightest of the two sides and were duly rewarded as early as the 1st minute when Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen, headed home a corner from Simon to put the Super Eagles 1-0 up.
But they were pegged back 5 minutes later by their West African neighbors when the Blue Sharks striker, Stopira, put the ball past Maduka Okoye in the Nigerian goal to make it 1-1.
Nigeria dominated the game afterward but lacked the cutting edge to increase their tally as the Cape Verdeans remained resolute at the back.
The Cape Verde coach, Bubista, made five changes in the second half as they went in search of a winner but despite a flurry of corner kicks and free kicks in the last 10 minutes, the Eagles held firm to book their place amongst Africa’s last 10, who will fight for the five slots in March 2020.
Nigeria progressed to the playoffs after topping the group with 13 points while Cape Verde came second with 11 points.
