Nigeria win as big guns crack whip

Odion Ighalo scored a hattrick as Nigeria took a big step towards the 2019 African Nations Cup finals with a thumping 4-0 home qualifier success over Libya on Saturday as the continent’s big guns flexed their muscles with significant victories.

Former Watford forward Ighalo netted an early penalty before scoring two more in the second period to go with a strike from Samuel Kalu. The Libyan side coach, Adel Amrouche, resigned unexpectedly last Tuesday.

Nigeria leapfrogged the North Africans into second place in Group E after three games, a point behind leaders South Africa.

The top two teams in each pool advance to the finals in Cameroon next June and July, and Nigeria and South Africa can all but seal those two Group E places with away wins against the same opponents tomorrow.

Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye was among the goals as Senegal cruised to a 3-0 home win over Sudan in Group A, with Pape Abou Cisse and M’Baye Niang also on the scoresheet.

World Cup finalists Morocco needed a 97th-minute winner from Faycal Fajr as they edged tiny Comoros Islands 1-0 in Group B, while Zimbabwe took charge of Group G with a surprise 2-1 win in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Defender Ronald Pfumbidzai opened the scoring with a second via Knowledge Musona, who was sent off with 15 minutes to go.

There were also wins for Tunisia, Uganda, Namibia and Burkina Faso. – Reuters