Nigeria beat Libya to go top of group E

Libya again succumbed to the superiority of Nigeria’s Super Eagles in Sfax, Tunisia after losing 2-3 in the 2019 AFCON Qualifiers.

It was the Eagles that drew the first blood early in the game, with Idion Ighalo putting Nigeria ahead with a 14th minute goal with an assist from captain Ahmed Musa.

Nigeria continued to torment the Libyans and Musa was also rewarded in the 17th minute following an assist from Ighalo, with a cool finish to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.

The first half was dominated by the Eagles but a loss of concentration by the visitors’ backline gifted the Libyans a header from Mohamed Zubya, which beat goalkeeper Francis Uzoho in the 35th minute of the first half.

In the second half, it was a resurgent Libya which put the balls into Nigeria’s box with several saves from Uzoho, who thwarted the Libyans’ moves.

But in the 74th minute, a parried ball from Uzoho fell into the path of Ahmad Benali, who tucked the ball into the right side of Nigeria’s goal to throw the venue into a frenzy.

The introduction of John Ogu added some bite into the Eagles’ attack, with Ighalo’s superb finish in the 82nd minutes, putting the Eagles ahead again.

Earlier in the day, South Africa were forced to a goalless draw by the group’s whipping boys – Seychelles and with Eagles’ third consecutive victory, Nigeria now tops the Group with nine points, while South Africa is second with eight points. Libya is third with four points.

Nigeria’s next group match will be against the Bafana Bafana in Johannesburg, in November.