Oshoala praises Osimhen after winner against Sierra Leone

Barcelona striker Asisat Oshoala has praised Victor Osimhen following his winning goal against Sierra Leone as the Super Eagles began their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with a 2-1 victory on Thursday.

The Barcelona striker lauded the Napoli hitman following his winning goal for the Super Eagles against the Leone Stars

Nigeria came from behind to win the match at the Abuja National Stadium after Jonathan Morsay had given the Leone Stars an 11^th-minute lead via a flying header, but Alex Iwobi responded for the hosts five minutes later.

Osimhen then made it 2-1 four minutes before the break.

The goal was Osimhen’s first for Nigeria this year and 11^th overall, and Oshoala was among those celebrating not just the win but the scorer.

“Best in scoring goals,” Oshoala posted online, accompanied by a photo of Osimhen during the 2016 Caf Awards, when the Napoli striker was feted as the Young Player of the Year after leading the Golden Eaglets to the 2015 Fifa U17 World Cup.

The two are known to be close friends who engage each other regularly on social media and also shared the stage at the awards ceremony six years ago when the Super Falcons striker claimed the Caf Women’s Player of the Year Award.

Osimhen’s goal took him above Victor Moses (10) on the Nigeria all-time top scorers’ charts and one short of Nwankwo Kanu’s tally for the Super Eagles. At 23, Osimhen has enough time to catch up with Daniel Amokachi (13), Jay-Jay Okocha (14) and Odion Ighalo (16).

Osimhen, who was Napoli’s top scorer with 18 goals in all competitions last season, is still some way off Rashidi Yekini’s mark of 37, but has a chance to increase his tally when Nigeria face Sao Tome e Principe in their next Afcon qualifier on Monday.

This was new coach Jose Peseiro’s first win after falling 2-1 and 1-0 to Mexico and Ecuador respectively in friendly matches in the United States over the last two weeks.

Osimhen was among a number of players who did not feature in the two friendly games but were recalled to the squad by Peseiro ahead of the Afcon qualifiers.