Ivory Coast 2023: Osimhen scores hat-trick as Nigeria round off AFCON qualifiers with 6-0 win over São Tomé and Príncipe
At the end of the match, sensational Victor Osimhen, who would not stop scoring, had netted a hat-trick as Super Eagles rounded up their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers with an emphatic 6-0 victory over São Tomé and Príncipe in Uyo, Akwa Ibom.
After 93 minutes of action at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Nigeria had 16 attempted shots and clinically made six of those count as goals – the visitors, whom Nigeria defeated 10-0 in the first leg of the Group A tie, only managed one in the one-sided fixture.
Osimhen opened the scoring for Nigeria in the 13th minute with a powerful header from Ademola Lookman’s corner kick before the latter doubled the lead 14 minutes later through a shot inside the 18-yard box. It was Lookman’s second goal of the qualifiers.
Six minutes after the break, Nottingham Forest informed striker Taiwo Awoniyi scored Nigeria’s third goal of the match when he acrobatically fired Kelechi Iheanacho’s assist past the goalkeeper.
In the 70th minute, Osimhen netted his second goal of the evening from the spot after goalkeeper Ronaldo Silva brought the player down. He struck his third nine minutes afterwards. It was the 24-year-old’s 20th goal for the national team, taking him to fourth on the highest scorers’ ranking.
It was his 10th goal of the 2023 AFCON qualifiers and has technically earned him the top scorer of the qualifying tournament.
Samuel Chukwueze sealed the victory for Nigeria in the 84th minute thanks to an assist from debutant Victor Boniface, who has been superb for his Bayer Leverkusen side this season.
Super Eagles dominated both legs of the fixture between the two countries, with Nigeria scoring 16 goals and a commanding 140 per cent combined possession in the first and second leg compared to the 60 per cent São Tomé and Príncipe managed to accumulate.
Nigeria finished as the leader of Group A with 15 points and will be joined from the group by Guinea-Bissau with 10 points but still have a game in hand against Sierra Leone for the main tournament in Ivory Coast next January.
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