Fisayo Dele-Bashiru was the hero for Nigeria, scoring a late winner as the Super Eagles squeaked a 1-0 victory over an ultra-defensive Libya in the race to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Lazio midfieler found separation in the box, got himself on the end of a cross from Moses Simon, and lashed home with four minutes of time left in regulation.
It was a massive relief to both the team and the fans, who had sweated for all of 86 minutes as Libya used every gamesmanship tactic in the book to waste time. In the end, the Libyans were incensed when the referee ended the game after just four minutes of additional time.
On a day when Augustine Eguavoen marked his 25th game in charge of Nigeria, dating back to 2005, the result boosted his record record to an impressive 15 wins, four draws and six losses. Incidentally, his first game in charge, after taking over as interim coach from Christian Chukwu in 2005, was a 1-0 friendly win against Libya.
Victor Osimhen can't return soon enough
Much of the focus going into this game was on Victor Boniface, and whether he would finally break his duck in his ninth international appearance for Nigeria.
It was not to be. More to the point, he looked nothing like the free-scoring machine who turns out weekly for German Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen. In the 74 minutes Boniface was on the field, it was hard to spot him.
He had one good opportunity, a header that was deflected just wide for a corner kick, but nothing else. But it was not just about the lack of goalscoring. And that is a major point of departure between him and lead striker Victor Osimhen. Whereas Osimhen would have been all over every blade of grass and chasing down defenders, and even midfielders, the opposite appeared to be the case for Boniface.
Boniface looked lethargic, was second to tackles, and did not look the same as he does for Bayer. That said, his replacement, Taiwo Awoniyi, did not look any better. Awoniyi barely got a sniff of the ball, and was left stranded for most of his time on the pitch.
It was a glaring difference between having Osimhen on the pitch and not having him there. From a fan's point of view -- and even from the coaches', although Eguavoen will never admit it -- Osimhen can't get healthy soon enough to return and take up his spot.
Fisayo Dele-Bashiru steps up again
While the forwards were having trouble finding their scoring boots, Dele-Bashiru wasted no time proving he deserved to be on that field, and challenging for a starting spot. Look out Alex Iwobi!
Dele-Bashiru replaced Iwobi at the same time as Awoniyi went on for Boniface, as Eguavoen made a triple substitution, and he made an immediate impact.
Iwobi did not have a bad day -- he did have multiple opportunities to score, including a half-volley from the position that Dele-Bashiru finally struck from -- but the Lazio midfielder appears to be developing the habit of scoring important goals. He did the same against South Africa, and, against Libya he stepped upon again when the team -- and the country -- needed him most.
Dele-Bashiru was just as impressive when he last previously started for Nigeria, and Eguavoen will now have a hard time deciding whether he or Iwobi starts in the second match against Libya.
Ademola Lookman denials make the case for VAR
Two games, two good goals chalked off for Ademola Lookman.
The Atalanta forward had a goal disallowed in Rwanda that would have given Nigeria the win. Replays showed the decision was incorrect. On Friday night, he also had a goal called back for offside after running into a great position to pick up a lofted pass. Again, replays showed that he had at least three defenders in front of him when the ball was played. Referees are human, and errors are part of the game, but this is the exact imperative for VAR.
With qualification being such a high-stakes game, CAF needs to start implementing the use of VAR for AFCON qualification. The FIFA World Cup qualifiers already use VAR in Africa, so there is no question of reinventing the wheel.
One decision could prove the difference between a place at the Africa Cup of Nations or not.
For Nigeria, that appears to be a moot question this time, as the Super Eagles defeated Libya; but they could have nine points from their four qualifiers to date, instead of seven. How decisive could the next error be?
Moses Simon is back
If the night belonged to one player, there can be no argument about it being Simon.
Starting on the right flank, Simon tormented Sobhi Al Dawi for most of the first half, turning him inside out and breezing past him almost at will. Then he switched to the left flank, to hand Sanad bin Ali more of the same.
At one point, he dragged Sanad in then lifted the ball and skipped past him, like the right-back was not there, before dancing along the byline and delivering a square ball that was only just cleared with Boniface lurking.
Libya finally double-teamed Simon to get some relief for Sanad, but the wideman was not to be stopped and kept delivering dangerous balls into the box -- including that which Dele-Bashiru put away.
Augustine Eguavoen shows his evolving mettle
Not every fan agreed with the appointment of Eguavoen as Super Eagles coach, even on an interim basis, in the wake of Finidi George's unceremonious departure.
Many were still scarred by the AFCON 2021 loss to Tunisia after the Super Eagles had blazed their way through he qualifiers, and then by the two-legged elimination from FIFA World Cup qualification by an inferior Ghana team.
But the former defender continues to get the job done, deploying tactics to match the opposition and making the adjustments necessary to get results. With Libya sitting deep, and feigning injuries to waste time, Eguavoen withdrew the off-colour Frank Onyeka for Samuel Chukwueze on the hour, then proceeded to hook Boniface, Iwobi and Wilfred Ndidi for Awoniyi, Dele-Bashiru and Raphael Onyedika respectively, switching from a 4-3-3 formation to 4-2-4.
Once the goal was scored, he pulled Lookman and sent on in Semi Ajayi to strengthen the defence as the Libyans started to come forward dangerously.
Eguavoen may not be the flashiest of coaches, but he continues to show he is about results, and after the learnings from the World Cup qualifying and AFCON heartbreaks, he appears to have tempered his more gung-ho instincts in favor of pragmatism.