By Kehinde Okeowo
Super Eagles were punished for sloppy performance against the lowly rated Central African Republic (CAR), who got rewarded with a late goal to seal the encounter which took place at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos
The first half started with the home side dominating proceedings but unable to threaten the well-drilled defence of the visitors.
The second half resumed with CAR still resolute at the back, limiting Nigeria to half chances, Victor Osimhen however, hit the goal post in the second half, on one of the few occasions Nigeria threatened the goal of the visitors.
CAR who had not offered any serious threat going forward got a lucky break on the 91st minute, when their striker, Karl Namnganda took advantage of a mix up at the back of the Nigerian team.
The visitors held on to claim a surprise win over their host.
Attention will now shift to the away leg of the double-header encounter, which will hold in Douala, Cameroon, the adopted home of CAR on Sunday.
Nigeria still leads Group C with 6 points and +5 goal difference, but CAR has now moved out of the bottom and now 3rd on the table with 4 points, and the result of today’s encounter has thrown the group wide open.