• Benin Beat Rwanda 1-0, South Africa played goalless With Zimbabwe

The Super Eagles revived their World Cup qualification hope on Friday, securing a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Lesotho.   Goals from captain William Troost-Ekong and debutant Jerome Adams were enough to secure all three points despite a late scare from the hosts. Nigeria started brighter of the two sides, with Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman testing the Lesotho defence early on.

The Super Eagles dominated possession but struggled to break down a disciplined Crocodiles backline, with Arokodare and Iwobi both coming close in the first half. The breakthrough finally came in the 54th minute after Mkwanazi handled the ball in the box. Troost-Ekong stepped up and calmly slotted home from the spot to put Nigeria ahead.

Substitute Jerome Adams doubled the advantage in the 80th minute, finishing off a fine move initiated by Osimhen on a counter-attack. The debutant showed composure to beat his marker and fire low into the bottom corner, seemingly securing victory for the Super Eagles

Lesotho refused to back down. Just three minutes later, Kalake capitalised on a goalkeeping error from Stanley Nwabali, who failed to claim a corner, allowing the midfielder to dink the ball into the net and make it 2-1.

The final minutes were frantic, with Lesotho pushing hard for an equaliser and nearly snatching one in stoppage time after another defensive mix-up. Nigeria ultimately held on to secure a narrow but crucial win that keeps their qualification hopes alive.

The battle now shifts to Uyo on Tuesday, where the Super Eagles host table-topping Benin Republic.  Nigeria need to beat Benin 3-0, praying for South Africa to drop points against Rwanda.

The coach Gernot Rohr led Benin to defeat Rwanda 1-0 away on Friday to hit 17 points. The Bafana Bafana of South Africa drew 0-0 with Zimbabwe on Friday.