The Super Eagles of Nigeria were forced to a 1-1 draw by the Bafana Bafana of South Africa at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in the FIFA 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.
A goal from each half resulted in the two sides sharing the spoils in Uyo.
Sphephelo Sithole gave the visitors the lead in the 29th minute before former Manchester City star Dele-Bashiru levelled things up in the 46th minute for Finidi George’s side.
But what are the outstanding takehomes from the game?
1. Finidi George Played His First Competitive Game As Super Eagles Coach
Super Eagles head coach Finidi George opened his account as the coach of the Nigeria national team with a hard-fought draw against a tough opposition at home.
The game which was played in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital had the 30,000-capacity Nest of Champions full to its brim.
However, the cheers from fans of the home team could not spur Nigeria’s Super Eagles to victory against a resilient Bafana Bafana side.
2. Victor Boniface not good enough to play for Finidi George
Despite Victor Osimhen being absent in the game, many would expect Bayer Leverkusen star Victor Boniface to start the game. However, Paul Onuacho was preferred to lead the attack which forced the Nigerian team to play direct balls to integrate the former Southampton man into the game.
When asked why Boniface did not even play as a substitute, Coach Finidi George replied “He was supposed to come in, but when we heard [Semi] Ajayi complained that he had a knock and couldn’t continue, we had to reverse that,”
“For me, it is what you can give to me on the field. Everyone wants this or that player to play, but at the end of the day, if the player is not performing, you guys will still be shouting ‘take him off,'” he added.
“So, let us do our job. We know who is good to go. We have another game, so we’ll definitely see how we can play these guys.” Finidi said.
3. Dele-Bashiru Opened His Goal Scoring Account
Former Manchester City player Fikayo Dele-Bashiru scored his first goal for the Nigeria Super Eagles when he equalised against South Africa at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.
Coming out from the break with a goal down, the Super Eagles pressed immediately and won the ball in the South Africa half and Alex Iwobi found Dele-Bashiru who shoved off his marker before finding the bottom corner.
Despite being just his second game for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, the former Sheffield Wednesday man who now plies his trade with Hatayspor in the Turkish first division was all Nigeria needed to pull out a draw as he was later pulled out of the game due to injury.
4. Nigeria Still Suffering From Direct Approach
For all their possessions, Nigeria struggled to cope with South Africa’s direct long ball tactics in the first half which caused them lots of problems.
Percy Tau who was South Africa’s danger man explored the left side of the Super Eagles on many occasions when stand-in left-back Bright Osayi-Samuel went on overlapping missions and found it hard to catch up with Tau’s speed, thereby giving the centre-backs much work to do.
5. Nigeria Vs South Africa Producing Another 1-1 Draw
The Nigeria versus South Africa game produced another 1-1 draw in Uyo after it produced a similar result in Côte d’Ivoire in the semi-final of the 2023 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria progressed to the final after defeating South Africa vis penalties, thanks to Nwabali’s heroics.
South Africa and Nigeria are 4th and 5th respectively in their group with four and three points apiece.
6. World Cup Dream Fading
The hopes of Nigeria playing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup is fading after the Super Eagles dropped yet another three points at home.
Despite playing unbeaten in this World Cup qualifying series, Nigeria has dropped six massive points, gaining three draws which have kept them 5th on the log putting them on a mountain to climb if they are to play in the next World Cup.
7. Lookman Not Impactful As Expected
After Victor Osimhen was injured and declared not fit to play against South Africa in Uyo, all eyes were on UEFA Europa League hero, Ademola Lookman who scored a hat-trick in the finals to gift Atalanta the trophy.
But the former RB Leipzig man failed to record one shot on target.
Despite being generous in the game and creating most of the chances, AC Milan forward Samuel Chukwueze came off the bench to have much impact as he brought some spark to the game and almost handed Nigeria the winner after hitting the woodwork.
8. Murmuring Of The New National Anthem
The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium was in a murmuring state when the new national anthem “Nigeria we hail thee” was sung.
Neither the Super Eagles players nor the large crowd were able to sing the new anthem which was passed into law by the national assembly a few days ago.
Following the result against South Africa, Nigeria will need to win against the Cheetah of Benin Republic when they travel in the coming days to keep their hopes of qualifications alive.
