Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro has praised his players for their remarkable attitude in the win against Sao Tome and Principe.

Peseiro’s side thrashed the True Patriots 6-0 in their final 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixture at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo.

Victor Osimhen netted a hat-trick with Ademola Lookman, Taiwo Awoniyi and Samuel Chukwueze scoring the other goals.

The Super Eagles put up a good display against their fellow West Africans despite already securing a place at the 2023 AFCON finals.

Peseiro was delighted with his players performance and exemplary attitude.

“My players showed commitment, I pushed them to do well. Normally when you play against a team that is not strong, everybody relax,”the Portuguese stated during his interaction with the media after the game.

“In this game, they didn’t relax, they put up a spectacle from the first minute to the last they were fighting. They played a good game, we won 6-0 which was good.”

The 63-year -also expressed his delight with the atmosphere inside the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.

“I will like to thank the people of Akwa Ibom State for the honour bestowed on us,”he added.

“The atmosphere inside the stadium was good and the fans were fantastic too. I want to say thank you to them. The pitch here is fantastic and the hotel too.”

Nigeria spanked São Tomé 6-0 to end their 2023 AFCON qualification journey on Sunday September 10. Caretaker presents Super Eagles players’ ratings.

FRANCIS UZOHO: Had a quiet game and little or no work to do. Well, I will rate him for the confidence to start the goal kicks from the back. 6/10

OLA AINA: A confident shift at right-back for the Nottingham Forest man, joined the attack well and dribbled when he had to. 7/10

BRUNO ONYEAMACHI: Powerful performance for Bruno at left-back, his recovery of the ball and crosses were good. 8/10

CALVIN BASSEY: The Fulham FC defender had a good game at Center back. Not a lot of work to do defensively though, just passing the ball around to setup teamplay. 8/10

SEMI AJAYI: Just like Bassey, had little to do defensively. But his passing range was awesome. 8.5/10

WILFRED NDIDI: Captain of the day. Ndidi looked sharp and confident. 8.5/10

FRANK ONYEKA: Mobile and led the quick breaks forward. The Brentford man is not the attacking spice Alex Iwobi would have offered if he were in the game but that was job done. 7.5/10

KELECHI IHEANACHO: Started on the right side and was good with the set pieces. A good day for seniorman who had two assists for Osimhen and Chukwueze. 8.5/10

ADEMOLA LOOKMAN: Scored the second goal and was never shy of facing the Sao Tome defenders, reason Peseiro kept him for the entire game. 8/10

TAIWO AWONIYI: Had a poor first half but was blessed to start and finish the move for Nigeria’s third goal of the game. 7/10

VICTOR OSIMHEN: A very energetic performance from the Napoli forward whose every move was cheered on by the crowd at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo.

Osimhen scored a hattrick to reach 20 international goals for the Super Eagles of Nigeria. Man of the match 9.5/10.

SUBSTITUTES

VICTOR BONIFACE: Came on for Taiwo Awoniyi to make his international debut for Nigeria.

Unfortunately did not have opportunity to score but assisted the sixth goal scored by Samuel Chukwueze.

JOE ARIBO: The Southampton FC midfielder replaced Frank Onyeka. A quiet game he had but helped increase the tempo. 6/10.

TYRONE EBUEHI: Replaced Ola Aina at right-back to mark his return to International duty with the Super Eagles. A fair and quiet shift for the defender. 6/10.

SAMUEL CHUKWUEZE: The AC Milan forward started on the bench but came on to make significant contribution to the win. Assisted Victor Osimhen to score the 5th goal before scoring the 6th goal. 8/10

RAPHAEL ONYEDIKA: Spent little time on the turf. Not enough to earn a rating.

Former Nigeria International Ojokojo Torunarigha has revealed how he convinced his son Jordan to dump Germany for the Super Eagles.

Jordan Torunirigha is part of 23 Super Eagles players for the AFCON qualifier vs Sao Tome and Principe today, Sunday September 10 at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo.

That means, he could make his International bow Nigeria after initially turning down the opportunity in 2018 despite messages from then coach Genot Rohr.

Ojokojo Torunarigha who represented the Nigeria National team in the 90’s revealed what he told his son to follow his path.

” He rejected the chance to play for the Super Eagles in the past, but I had to convince him to change his mind,” Ojokojo said in Uyo.

“He was like I have never come down to Nigeria before, i don’t know much about the country.

” But I had to sit him down and tell him beautiful things about the country. I told him how passionate Nigerians are about football and how much they will appreciate him.

“So far, he is loving the experience of coming down here. This is his first time in Nigeria and we hope he will play for the Super Eagles for a long time.” Ojokojo Torunarigha said.

Gent defender Jordan Torunarigha himself revealed he rejected the Super Eagles call-up in 2018 because he was a youngster.

“I was quite young at that time and it was difficult to accept the offer to play for the Super Eagles, ”

“This is my first call-up and I hope I will be given time to show the fans, who have been criticizing me for denying Nigeria all through, what I am made of, ” Jordan Torunarigha said.

The Super Eagles will host Lesotho in their opening fixture in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

The encounter is slated for the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo on November 13.

Jose Peseiro’s side will then travel to Harare for their next game against Zimbabwe a week later.

The qualifying series will continue in June 2024 with Nigeria hosting the Bafana Bafana of South Africa before a tricky away tie against neighbours Benin Republic.

The Eagles will then continue the marathon qualifying series with a trip to Rwanda followed by a home tie versus Zimbabwe in March 2025.

They then face Rwanda in a reverse tie in August 2025, before a trip to South Africa the following month.

Their final round of qualifiers in October 2025 will be away to Lesotho and at home against Benin.

Victor Osimhen has emerged as the top scorer of the qualifying series of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

His three goals in the 6-0 defeat of Sao Tome & Principe brought his total to 10, five more than his closest rival, Senegal Sadio Mane.

His topping of goal chart could also put him in the frame to win the African Footballer of the Year award holding in Morocco in December.

Nigeria End The Afcon 2023 Qualifiers On High Note

The Super Eagles finished the 2023 Africa Cup of Nation qualifying series amassing a total of 22 goals, the highest by any of the 54 entries for the competition.

But 16 of the goals were against one team, Sao Tome & Principe who were beaten 10-0 and 6-0 respectively in away and home matches.

Teenager Coco Gauff mounted a fierce comeback to beat Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka 2-6 6-3 6-2 in the U.S. Open women’s final on Saturday, claiming her first Grand Slam title and cementing her place in American tennis royalty.

With the win, sixth seed Gauff became the first American to win a U.S. Open singles title since Sloane Stephens in 2017.

Gauff, 19, fed off noisy local support as she fought back in the second set and kept the momentum going until the end of the battle, before falling to the court on Arthur Ashe Stadium as she clinched the title with a backhand winner.

Sabalenka had a superb start but could not keep the momentum going as unforced errors piled up and she closed her 2023 Grand Slam run, which included an Australian Open title and semi-finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, on a disappointing note.

“It doesn’t get more dramatic than that, to be honest,” said Gauff, who lost in her only previous major final appearance last year at Roland Garros.

“I knew today was going to be one of those problem-solving tough matches because she’s a tough opponent, so I’m obviously happy with the result.”

There were early signs of nervousness from both players, as Gauff made a pair of unforced errors to help Sabalenka to a break in the opening game, and the Belarusian dropped serve in the fourth game with two double faults and an unforced error.

The crowd urged on Gauff, the first American teenager to reach the U.S. Open singles final since Serena Williams in 2001.

But Sabalenka blocked out the noise and used her mighty forehand to convert on a break point chance in the fifth game. The Belarusian was helped to another break in the seventh as Gauff double faulted and made two more costly forehand mistakes.

The 25-year-old Sabalenka, who will take over as world number one in the new rankings, had ended Gauff’s run at Indian Wells earlier this year but told reporters this week she expected a “different player” in Saturday’s final.

She ended up facing just that in the second set, as the American showed new resolve when she fended off a pair of break points in the first game and flipped the script.

What was once a lopsided affair turned into a battle as Gauff increased her intensity, sending Sabalenka scrambling around the court in the fourth game before the Belarusian dropped her serve with a double fault.

Gauff produced an overhead smash to break in the opening game of the third set and converted another in the third game.

Sabalenka took a medical timeout after the fifth game, consulting a physio for an apparent issue with her left thigh, but did not appear worse off as she broke in the next game.

If Gauff was rattled, however, she did not show it, winning a 20-shot rally before breaking back in the seventh game and soaking up the adoration of the crowd at the major she grew up watching as she clinched the title.

Sean Strickland defeated Isreal Adeanya to become the new UFC middleweight champion of the world with all judges scoring the fight in his favour at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

A first-round knock down by the American was the highlight of the fight that went the whole five rounds.

All three judges scored the fight 49-46 for the American and new middleweight world champion, Strickland. He did it with nonstop pressure and steady, upright boxing never once attempting a grapple.

It is back to the drawing board for the Nigerian-born fighter Adesanya as he was on the back foot throughout the clash at UFC 293.

This is his third loss bringing his record to 24-3 now while Strickland improves to 28-5.

Nigerian duo Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala are both delighted to have being nominated for the prestigous Ballon d’Or award in the men’s and women’s category.

Both players are part of the five African players vying to win one of the most prestigious awards in the football world since George Weah achieved this feat in 1995.

Other players from the continent shortlisted for the award are Egypt’s Mohamed Salah, Cameroon’s Andre Onana and Yassine Bounou from Morocco

Osimhen earned a place on the men’s shortlist after scoring 31 goals last season for Napoli who clinched their first Italian league title in 33 years.

The 24-year-old also made history becoming the first African player to claim the prestigious Italian Serie A golden boot award, also known as the ‘Capocannoniere,’ edging out competition from Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez to land the coveted individual accolade.

He is also the leading scorer in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with seven goals.

Oshoala, on her part, is the only woman from the continent nominated in the female category. She has won the Confederation of African Footballer’s African Women’s Player of the Year award a stunning five times.

The 28-year-old was the top scorer for Barcelona Femeni last season after she notched 26 goals (21 league goals and five in the Women’s Champions League) in all competitions.

Speaking about his nomination, Osimhen told Football Fans Tribe,” It feels good, glory be to God for this achievement. For me, it is a big milestone and a childhood dream. You know, being up there is amazing.

Osimhen also gave credit to his family and friends whose support has helped him to keep going, even during hard times, and even though the nomination is great, it is not as good as it gets for the prolific goalscorer.

“It’s an amazing feeling for me and I thank those who have been very supportive and helpful to me, and my family also, they stood by me through the hard times. This is just the beginning, we’ll keep working hard to achieve all my dreams.”

Oshoala, a five time African Women’s Player of the year was Barcelona’s top scorer with 26 goals (21 in the league and five in the Women’s Champions League) in all competitions last year.

She was also instrumental in Barcelona Femeni winning the league title and the Women’s Champions League last season.

“I’m very happy about the nomination and excited for what’s to come. I had a tough end to the season, but I think I worked last year and I’m really happy I was able to get on the nomination list again for another year of hard work,” Oshoala told The MTN Super Falcons Show.

Oshoala was also nominated for the prestigious Sócrates Ballon d’Or Award for her humanitarian contributions.