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Iheanacho’s goal lift Nigeria past Mali

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Iheanacho’s goal lift Nigeria past Mali

Manchester City new kid on the block, Kelechi Iheanacho, continued his blistering form on Friday as his second half goal was enough to secure victory for the Super Eagles against their Malian counterpart in an international friendly played in Rouen, France.

After a not too impressive goalless first half, the 19-year-old who scored 14 goals for Manchester City in the concluded season hit the match winner on 77 minutes just moments after he replaced Arsenal youngster Alex Iwobi.

Fellow substitute Michael Babatunde released Iheanacho for the youngster to deliver a cool finish.

It was the attacking substitution by coach Salisu that brought some gloss to an otherwise drab affair.

The caretaker coach brought on Babatunde, Umar Aminu and Brown Ideye in place of Moses Simon, Oghenekaro Etebo and Ighalo, before he added Ikeanacho in the mix.

Read also: Eagles ready for Mali challenge, says Yusuf

Nigeria lined up a very young starting XI that include Arsenal youngster Alex Iwobi and debutant Musa Mohammed.

The last time these two teams met was at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations semifinal, where the Nigerians thrashed the Malians 4 – 1 on their way to winning the trophy for a third time.

The friendly is aimed at preparing the three-time African champions for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, which begins in October.

Nigeria will play a second friendly on Tuesday against Luxembourg in Luxembourg City.

Eagles starting XI:

Carl Ikeme – Musa Mohammed, Kingsley Madu, Leon Balogun, Troost-Ekong – Ogenyi Onazi (Captain) (Raheem Lawal), Shehu Abdullahi, Moses Simon (Michael Babatunde) , Alex Iwobi (Kelechi Iheanacho) – Oghenekaro Etebo (Umar Aminu), Odion Ighalo (brown Ideye)

 

 

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