This archive report was first published on 4 September 2021.
On Friday, September 3, 2021, Nigeria made a winning start in World Cup qualifying, beating Liberia 2-0 in Lagos. The team's success was largely due to the efforts of Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho, who scored twice in the match.
Both of Iheanacho's goals were set up by Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi, another English Premier League star. Nigeria's victory marked their first win in the African World Cup qualifying group, which also includes Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, and Liberia.
Coach Gernot Rohr praised his team's performance, saying, 'The job has been done. We had to win our first game at home and we did not concede a goal.'
However, Nigeria will face a tougher challenge in their next match against Cape Verde, who drew away to the Central African Republic two days ago. The team will also have to contend with the absence of nine Britain-based players, who are unable to travel to Cape Verde due to the UK's coronavirus 'red list'.
Meanwhile, South Africa drew 0-0 away to Zimbabwe in a scrappy Group G match, marking the debut of Belgian coach Hugo Broos. The team will face Ghana again in the World Cup and are unlikely to finish above the west Africans.
Other results from the World Cup qualifying matches included Ghana's 1-0 win over Ethiopia, Zambia's 2-1 victory over Mauritania, and Tunisia's 3-0 win over Equatorial Guinea.
