… Iheanacho steals draw for Super Eagles, as World Cup chances dwindle
The Warriors of Zimbabwe held Nigeria’s Super Eagles to a 1-1 draw in their second group match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers on Sunday, at the Huye stadium, Butare, Rwanda.
The Super Eagles needed to get a win in Rwanda to put themselves in a good position in Group C, but they failed to show their quality.
The pressure was on the 2013 AFCON champions, as they needed a positive result after a disappointing draw against Lesotho at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium last Thursday.
Zimbabwe started the game well, matching the Super Eagles toe-to-toe.
The Super Eagles had a good chance to score in the 15th minute, but Nathan Tella failed to conjure a good cross, and Zimbabwe cleared their lines.
The game was pretty balanced until the 26th minute when Zimbabwe’s Musona hit a perfect 30-meter free kick to beat Nigeria’s shot stopper, Francis Uzoho.
The Super Eagles, who had their point man, Victor Osimhen, as well as Taiwo Awoniyi struggled to impose themselves on the game, with Zimbabwe emerging as the stronger side at half time.
Jose Peseiro made three changes at halftime, bringing on Victor Boniface, Kelechi Iheanacho and Osayi-Samuel, for Ola Oina, Onyeka and Nathan Tella.
Peseiro’s men were duly rewarded with a 67th-minute goal from Iheanacho, who got off the bench, fired a shot just inside the left post to equalize for the Super Eagles.
Nigeria kept on searching for the winning goal in the closing stages of the battle but the Warriors remained resolute in defence.
The match ended in a draw and left Zimbabwe and Nigeria, who are yet to win in these qualifiers, with no chance of getting closer to the leaders of their zone.
