The Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Leopards of Congo played out an interesting draw at the Adokiye Amiesimaka stadium in Port Harcourt. William Troost-Ekong’s goal was cancelled out late in the game as Ben Malango scored from the penalty spot to deny the Eagles a win in the Rivers State capital.
Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr put out a youthful squad, giving starts to World Cup hopefuls, Junior Lokosa, Simy Nwankwo and Tyrone Ebuehi leaving John Obi Mikel, Ahmed Musa and Alex Iwobi on the bench. The result in what is the Eagles penultimate friendly before the opening game against Croatia on June 16 leaves the Eagles with just one win in their last three games.
The match started slow with the Eagles bossing possession and the Leopards defending deep. Simy Nwankwo had the game’s first effort beating the Congolese center back pairing with a roulette turn and firing his shot against the underside of the woodwork.
The Eagles however were not to be denied as William Troost-Ekong scored his first goal for the Super Eagles after the Congolese goalkeeper mistimed his jump to leave the Eagles defender with a simple tap in. Kelechi Iheanacho, Oghenekaro Etebo and Alex Iwobi has chances to stretch the Eagles lead but the Eagles squandered opportunities till the Leopards made them pay.
Substitute Ola Aina brought down the impressive winger Francy Kazadi Kasengu and Ben Malango stepped up to send the Nigerian goalkeeper the wrong way for a deserved equalizer in the 78th minute.
At the end of the game, Super Eagles defender William Troost-Ekong was named the Coca-Cola Man of the match after an all-round performance that saw him make a game high 9 interceptions and a goal.
After the match, Super Eagles Head Coach, Gernot Rohr said. “The team deserves some credit for the way they played, particularly on the defensive front. I had to see some of our players especially Nwankwo and Lokosa and I’m happy we didn’t end the game with any injuries”.
The Super Eagles will now turn attention to their final friendly match against the Three Lions of England on the 2nd of June, 2018 before the official announcement of the final 23-man World Cup squad.