Nigeria’s Super Eagles were held to another 1-1 draw by Bafana Bafana of South Africa in the match day three 2026 World Cup Qualifier encounter in Uyo on Friday night, www.aclsports.com reports.
The three-time African Champions had to rally back in the second half to avoid a home defeat to the visitors in front of a packed crowd at the Nest of Champions. Themba Zwane opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark before Fisayo Dele-Bashiru equalized for the Eagles immediately after the restart.
Finidi George handed competitive debuts to Ihefu defender Benjamin Tanimu and midfielder Dele-Bashiru, while Paul Onuachu was given the nod to lead the attack in the absence of the injured Victor Osimhen. Bayer Leverkusen forward Victor Boniface, AC Milan winger Samuel Chukwueze, and returning goalkeeper Maduka Okoye were listed on the bench.
It was a cagey start to the game but Nigeria could have gone ahead when Wilfred Ndidi, who missed the AFCON, played in-form Ademola Lookman through on goal but the Atalanta forward could not sort his feet on time to get the ball on target. Afterward, the visitors grew into the game as Teboho Mokoena struck the woodwork from a freekick.
Just before the half-hour mark, South Africa got the game’s opener from a fine build-up. Zwane exchanged passes with Sithole Spephole before firing past a hapless Nwabali. The Super Eagles woke up after going behind but they lacked the right composure in the final third to trouble SA goalkeeper Ronwen Williams as they went behind at the break.
Immediately after the restart, Dele-Bashiru brought Nigeria back on level terms. The Turkey-based midfielder received a fine pass from Alex Iwobi before turning his marker and firing into the bottom corner for his first goal in the colours of Nigeria.
From that moment on, Nigeria started to dominate and could have gone ahead when Chukwueze, who had come on for Kelechi Iheanacho, struck the woodwork after a nice one-two with Yusuf Alhassan. Late on in the game, Williams pulled off a great stop to deny Lookman from scoring the winner as the two teams settled for another draw.
Based on the outcome of the game, Nigeria – who have now drawn their opening three World Cup Qualifiers – are second from bottom in the group with just three points, while South Africa are fourth on the log with four points. Lesotho sit top of the log with five points.
Super Eagles will now travel to Abdijan to face Gernot Rohr’s Benin Republic on Monday, while Bafana Bafana will be at home to entertain Zimbabwe on match day four of the qualifiers.
