Soccer
The Super Eagles of Nigeria were held to a 2-2 draw by Poland in an entertaining international friendly at the PGE Narodowy Stadium on Wednesday night, Soccernet.ng reports.
With the stadium packed as Polish fans turned out in their numbers to support their Biało-czerwoni, the atmosphere was electric. The match was expected to be a tight contest, with both sides closely matched in terms of player quality, and the encounter lived up to the billing as both teams traded blows from the opening whistle.
Despite playing in a hostile environment, Nigeria maintained a disciplined defensive shape throughout the early exchanges.
The game began to open up after the 10th minute. Shortly after, in the 21st minute, Poland had a penalty appeal waved away by referee Marian Barbu after Robert Lewandowski went down in the box.
Nigeria made the hosts pay just three minutes later. Moses Simon received the ball at the edge of the area, danced past his marker, and delivered a low cross to Terem Moffi, who snuck behind his defender to poke the ball into the net for a 1-0 lead.
Poland did not take falling behind lightly and immediately poured men forward in search of an equalizer. Their persistence paid off on the stroke of halftime; following a scramble in the Nigerian box after a corner, Nicola Zalewski fired a wicked shot toward goal, which Kacper Potulski deflected into the net to level the score at 1-1 heading into the break.
At the start of the second half, manager Eric Chelle rang the changes, introducing Calvin Bassey, Paul Onuachu, Raphael Onyedika, Zaidu Sanusi, Philip Otele, Semi Ajayi, and Rafiu Durosinmi.
The flurry of substitutions disrupted Nigeria’s rhythm at first, as the players adjusted to the new setup. However, after a shaky 15-minute period, the Super Eagles regained their composure and successfully pegged back the rampaging Poles.
Poland nearly took the lead just after the hour mark when Zaidu Sanusi played a dangerous back-pass toward Maduka Okoye. The Udinese goalkeeper showed great reflexes, however, making himself big to produce a smart save with his right leg.
Nigeria eventually regained the lead in the 77th minute. After a VAR review that confirmed a handball inside the Polish box, the referee pointed to the spot. Paul Onuachu took charge of the situation and dispatched the penalty with aplomb to make it 2-1.
It seemed like Onuachu’s strike was going to be the difference between the two teams after 90 minutes, but the Biało-czerwoni had some late chances, which Okoye handled in brilliant fashion.
He first made a double save to deny Lewandowski, before saving another effort from Oskat Pietuszewski. It looked game, set, and match. But just before full-time, Przemyslaw Wisniewski fired a rocket from around 30 meters, which found its way to the back of the net to make sure it ended 2-2.
Soccer Who do the Super Eagles Play Next?
Following their 2-2 draw against Poland in Warsaw, the Super Eagles of Nigeria will now travel to Portugal to face them on June 8. That game will be an even tougher one for coach Eric Chelle and his lads. But they have shown that they can hold their own against a European side, so they will fancy themselves getting a result.
More to follow…
Read MoreKelvin Omachonu