Nigeria proved too strong for their opponents in their final game of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Nigeria were too strong for Sao Tome and Principe on Sunday evening as they thumped them 6-0 to send a statement ahead of next year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
In wet conditions at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, Nigeria, Napoli star Victor Osimhen began the slaughter in the 13th minute when he scored from an Ademola Lookman assist. Lookman then went on to get on to the score sheet himself some 14 minutes later as Wilfred Ndidi came through with the assist.
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Nottingham Forest striker, Taiwo Awoniyi, made sure that the Super Eagles continued where they left off in the second half as he found the back of the net in the 53rd minute.
Osimhen grabbed his brace through a penalty in the 70th minute before completing his hat-trick 10 minutes later. He has now scored seven goals against Sao Tome in two group games. Samuel Chukwueze’s 84th minute-goal sealed Nigeria’s emphatic win on the day.
The three-time Afcon winners are guaranteed a finish at the summit of Group A as they wrapped up their qualification campaign with 15 points. Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone are set to meet on Monday as Bissau have already qualified with 10 points while their opponents sit on five.
In another Afcon qualifier game, Togo beat Cape Verde 3-2 in Group B action as the Islanders have qualified alongside Burkina Faso.
The Super Eagles will now shift their focus to the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers as they look to make amends after missing out on the last edition in Qatar last year.