Victor Osimhen’s hat trick fired Nigeria’s Super Eagles to a 4-0 whitewash of Cheetah’s of Benin Republic in a final FIFA World Cup Qualifying match yesterday in Uyo.
Second half substitute Frank Onyeka scored the 4th goal in added minutes to ensure Nigeria finished as runners up in group C of the qualifying.
Benin began the day top, needing to avoid a heavy defeat against Nigeria at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, but they received some shellacking from the Osimhen inspired Eagles.
Nigeria needed South Africa to drop points against Rwanda in Nelspruit, but the Bafana Bafana ran out 3-0 victors to jump above Benin and top the group.
In the African qualifying stages, only the group winners qualify directly for next year’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, while best four runners-up qualify for a play-off stage.
As a result Nigeria will be thrown into a rankings list of all the group runners-up throughout the continent.
The top four-ranked sides all move into play-off semi-finals, with the two winners facing off in a final to decide Africa’s sole representative in a further inter-confederation play-off stage.
The rankings for those semi-finals will be made off FIFA ranking, with the highest taking on the lowest, and the second-highest facing the third-highest.
The inter-confederation play-offs will be conducted in March next year, with six teams from five confederations playing for the final two spots at the World Cup.
Reporting by Kelechi Bernard