The senior national team of Nigeria needed a goal from West Brom defender Semi Ajayi to salvage a point as they battled to a 1-1 draw against Lesotho in the opening game of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, OwnGoalnigeria.com reports.
OwnGoalNigeria.com rates the players on parade for Nigeria in what was a poor performance from the Jose Peseiro led team.
Francis Uzoho – Didn’t have anything to do as Lesotho barely threatened, wasn’t at fault for the goal conceded by the team ……… 5/10
Bright Osayi-Samuel – Got forward really well however he didn’t quite get his final balls right………. 5.5/10
Jamilu Collins – Assured defensively but didn’t do quite much going forward……… 5/10
Semi Ajayi – Not scared of passing forward and playing from the back. Bossed the game really well with Lesotho not committed to attacking and when he did scored the goal that rescued Nigeria from defeat………..6/10
Calvin Bassey – Dominated alongside Ajayi at the back, lost his man for the goal the team conceded and didn’t provide any form of threat going forward………. 4/10
Raphael Onyedika – Didn’t know what was going on. Looked lost and didn’t quite connect with Iwobi as part of the midfield two. A very poor showing from the Brentford man…….. 4/10
Alex Iwobi – Tried as he could, he found it hard to motivate the rest of his teammates with the connection between Boniface and Awoniyi making his job a lot harder than it should be due to a lack of understanding……… 5/10
Kelechi Iheanacho – Got the assist for the goal that saved Nigeria from a humiliating defeat. Looked fired up for it but not entirely comfortable playing as a winger…….. 6/10
Ademola Lookman – On the strength of his performance should be dropped from not just the starting lineup but from the team. Moses Simon showed how far he is ahead of the Atalanta man following his introduction……. 4/10
Taiwo Awoniyi – A very poor performance from the Nottingham Forest forward which got worse when he missed a clear chance to put his team ahead. Not a game he will like to remember in a hurry……… 5/10
Victor Boniface – His form in the German Bundesliga wasn’t on show. Although he oozed class with some of his touches, still didn’t do enough to be a threat in the opponent’s box…… 6/10
Substitutes:
Moses Simon – The only substitute who had an impact in the game as he sparked the team to life upon his introduction…… 7/10