A strike by Paul Onuachu and a brace by midfielder Raphael Onyedika lifted a remarkably different Nigeria team to a 3-1 win over Uganda in their final Group C encounter at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations finals in Morocco.
Onuachu, starting ahead of Akor Adams as Coach Eric Chelle made several changes to the squad that defeated Tanzania and Tunisia in their earlier games, connected perfectly with a pass from the left by Fisayo Dele-Bashiru in the 28th minute to give Nigeria the lead, only two minutes after veteran goalkeeper Denis Onyango had stopped a point-blank effort by the Trabzonspor of Turkey forward.
Before then, Nigeria had dominated play extensively, and as early as the 9th minute, Samuel Chukwueze’s shot came off the defensive wall after good work by Simon Moses. A teasing pull-out by Chukwueze in the 25th minute narrowly missed the head of Onuachu.
Moses himself came close with four minutes left in the first period, as his shot came off the wall after the Eagles poured forward in numbers once more.
In the second half, Rogers Mato came close to connecting with a good cross but missed. Nigeria regrouped and sustained the pressure on their opponents, who had won four of their previous eight encounters before Tuesday evening’s match in Fès.
Wing-back Bruno Onyemaechi side-netted in the 51st minute, and six minutes later, goalkeeper Salim Omar, who had come in for the injured Onyango, was red-carded after punching the ball outside his box as Victor Osimhen, Nigeria’s stand-in-captain, loomed towards goal.
Midfielder Raphael Onyedika, playing his first game at this AFCON, scored Nigeria’s second in the 62nd minute after connecting well with a pass by Samuel Chukwueze. Chukwueze and Raphael recreated a similar process four minutes later, leading to Onyedika, who plays his club football in Belgium, scoring his second and Nigeria’s third.
In the 70th minute, Paul Onuachu’s header was a little too high, and five minutes later, Rogers Mato scored at the other end as Uganda finished well from a brilliant team move.
Victory gave the Eagles the maximum nine points from their three matches, and they will now certainly meet the third-placed team in Group F, with both third-placed finishers in Groups A (Comoros) and B (Angola) already eliminated. This could be any of Cote d’Ivoire’s Elephants (Cup holders), Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions or the Mambas of Mozambique.
That match comes up on Monday, 5th January in Fès.
Tanzania’s gutsy 1-1 draw with Tunisia saw the Taifa Stars reach the knockout stage for the first time in their history. They will play host nation Morocco in the Round of 16.
