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By: Peter Akinbo.
President of Liberia George Weah has praised Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen after he scored a brace in the Super Eagles 3-2 win over Sierra Leone IN AN African Cup of Nations qualifier at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Monrovia, Liberia, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Following his excellent 2022/23 season, where he scored 26 league goals to steer Napoli to their first Italian Serie A title in 33 years, Weah, the 1995 World, European and African Footballer of The Year, penned a personal letter to Osimhen asking him to keep working hard and breaking new grounds.
On Sunday, Weah watched on in the presidential box of the stadium with Nigeria’s ambassadors to Liberia and Sierra Leone, NFF president, Ibrahim Gusau, NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, among others.
The Napoli forward delivered an outstanding performance, scoring in the 20th and 33rd minutes to steer Nigeria into a 2-0 lead.
“That is what I call a striker. Good positioning always. Very athletic and knows where to be each time the ball is coming. He is so strong and a fighter par excellence,” Weah said after the game.
The Nigeria forward is now the leading scorer in the qualifying series with seven goals, two ahead of Senegal’s Sadio Mane.
Osimhen has now racked up an impressive tally of 17 goals in 25 matches for Nigeria at senior level, placing him joint-sixth on the country’s top scorers list alongside Samson Siasia.
Members of the Nigerian community in Liberia, as well as other ecstatic fans of Osimhen from Liberia and Sierra Leone, trooped to the window area of the Super Eagles’ dressing room trying to force it open while shouting, “We want Victor!”
Osimhen’s two goals put Nigeria in front before Mustapha Bundu and Augustus Kargbo drew level, but in added period, substitute Kelechi Iheanacho converted from Zaidu Sanusi’s cross inside six yards to hand the three-time African champions the win.
Victory took Nigeria to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations finals with 12 points, with a match to spare, alongside second-placed Guinea Bissau on 10. The Leone Stars crashed out with only five points.
Hosts Ivory Coast, Morocco, Algeria, South Africa, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Egypt, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau and Mali are the 14 countries that have qualified for Ivory Coast 2023, with the remaining 10 to emerge in September, when Nigeria host Sao Tome and Principe in their final qualifying game.