On-loan Sundowns Star Nets Hat-trick In World Cup Qualifiers
On-loan Mamelodi Sundowns striker Abubeker Nasir scored a hat-trick as Ethiopia thumped Djibouti 6-1 in a FIFA World Cup qualifiers clash at a neutral venue at Stade El Abdi in Morocco on Monday night.
The 25-year-old grabbed a quick-fire brace just after the half-hour mark to give Ethiopia a healthy 3-0 lead at the break after fellow teammate Bereket Desta, who also netted a hat-trick, had opened the scoring in the 19th minute.
Nasir completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 58th minute, while Desta also found the back of the net seven minutes into the second half, before getting his third of the night through a penalty as well in the 70th minute.
The thrashing proved to be the East African nation’s first win of their World Cup qualifying campaign after six matches played. Ethiopia is in fourth place with six points – seven behind Group A leaders Egypt and trail second-placed Burkina Faso with five.
Meanwhile, the three goals will be a major confidence boost for the forgotten PSL star, who was brought to Chloorkop as a hot property from Ethiopia Coffee after netting a staggering 29 goals in the Ethiopian Premier League during the 2020/21 season.
The Ethiopian international showed promising signs on his debut 2022/23 season, scoring his first goal for the Brazilians against Kaizer Chiefs in a league match in August 2022, before suffering a horrific injury courtesy of a challenge from then-Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Siyabonga Mpontshane.
As a result, Nasir was restricted to only 14 appearances with four goals scored across all competitions in that season as the injury put him on a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Overall, he played 17 games in a Sundowns shirt, featuring three more times with no impact last season.
The forward has since been sent out on a season-long loan to cross-town rivals SuperSport United in a bid to get him fit and firing again. However, since joining Matsatsantsa in the off-season, the player has surprisingly yet to play for the club and has no appearance in this ongoing campaign.
Nasir made headlines in the wake of his no-show at SuperSport, with reports claiming he went AWOL.
Following intense speculations on his whereabouts, the player dismissed claims that he neglected his responsibilities, saying his absence was due to misunderstanding and injury.
It remains to be seen whether Nasir will finally make his long-awaited debut for the Spartans, who recently parted ways with coach Gavin Hunt as the team is languishing in unfamiliar territory in 15th place with 21 points – a daunting reality of possible relegation.
