Victor Osimhen scored late to secure a 1-1 draw for the Super Eagles in Matchday 5 of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Thursday.
Benin's Mohammed Tijani gave Benin the lead in the 16th minute, but Osimhen scored in the 81st minute to earn a point for the Super Eagles.
The Austin Eguavoen-led Super Eagles went into the game having already sealed qualification to the tournament in Morocco by virtue of Libya's win earlier in the day away in Rwanda. Nevertheless, Nigeria were hoping to preserve their unbeaten run in the qualifiers—having won three and drawn one from their opening four matches
Nigeria stated the game with great gusto, exerting their authority on their opponents, popping the ball around at speed and making Benin do plenty running but failed to put the game beyond the Cheetahs during their best moments in the early minutes of the game with their attacking play fizzling out in the first quarter and got punished.
Benin vs Nigeria: How it happened
Eguavoen handed Gabriel Osho his first Nigeria cap and named Victor Osimhen, who had missed last month's games due to injury, in the starting XI, replacing Bayer Leverkusen forward Victor Boniface. Kelechi Iheanacho also started ahead of Samuel Chukwueze.
Nigeria’s superior quality was evident in the opening exchanges as they enjoyed the larger share of possession but failed to make good use of the ball, with Osimhen missing key opportunities.
Benin, however, scored against the run of play in the 16th minute when Tijani outjumped the Nigerian centre-backs to head the ball home, with goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali unable to keep it out as the ball passed through his legs, resulting in the opener.
It was a much-improved second-half performance from the Super Eagles, with Eguavoen replacing Iheanacho and Osho by Moses Simon and Raphael Onyedika at the start of the second half.
With this victory, Nigeria has secured qualification for next year's AFCON, finishing top of the group with 11 points. Benin occupies second place with 7 points, followed by Rwanda in third with 5 points, while Libya sits at the bottom with 4 points.
