Osimhen Brace Fires Nigeria Past Gabon In World Cup Playoff

Victor Osimhen redeemed himself from an early miss by scoring twice to inspire Nigeria to a commanding 4–1 victory over Gabon in the 2026 FIFA World Cup CAF zone playoff at a neutral venue in Rabat, Morocco, on Thursday.

Osimhen had a golden chance to seal the game in added time of regulation but completely miscued his effort. Despite that, the Galatasaray striker made amends in extra time with two clinical finishes that ensured Nigeria advanced to the playoff final on Sunday.

Nigeria, who were eliminated by Ghana in the 2022 World Cup playoffs on the away goals rule, have now taken a major step toward returning to the global stage.

The match was officiated by South African referee Abongile Tom, with Akhona Makalima overseeing VAR duties — a decision that sparked controversy in Nigeria following comments by South Africa’s Sports Minister, Gayton McKenzie, who publicly stated he did not wish to see Nigeria qualify for the World Cup.

That statement was not well received in Nigeria, especially as the Super Eagles share a fierce rivalry with Bafana Bafana, who were in the same qualification group earlier in the campaign.

Tom wasted little time asserting control, showing an early yellow card to Nigeria captain Wilfred Ndidi for a tactical foul that halted a Gabon attack.

Nigeria dominated early proceedings, and a precise cross from Akor Adams found Osimhen unmarked in the box, but his header flew narrowly wide of the left post. The striker continued to threaten, forcing Gabon goalkeeper Loyce Mbaba into a fine save after rising high to meet Alex Iwobi’s cross. Mbaba again came to his side’s rescue with a superb stop to deny Osimhen’s low header bound for the bottom corner.

Gabon, led by veteran forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who scored four goals against Gambia last month, struggled under Nigeria’s relentless high press and found it difficult to progress beyond their own half.

Nigeria nearly opened the scoring when Osimhen met a cross from Ademola Lookman, causing chaos in Gabon’s defence. Mbaba, however, managed to claw the ball off the line just as it was trickling in.

While Osimhen was receiving plenty of service, Aubameyang was left isolated up front with little support.

Ten minutes into the second half, Gabon appealed for a penalty when Bright Osayi-Samuel appeared to tug Aaron Appindangoye’s shirt during a set-piece. Referee Tom reviewed the incident on the VAR monitor but ultimately waved play on.

With Nigeria losing rhythm, coach Eric Chelle made tactical changes, replacing the ineffective Lookman with Moses Simon, while Samuel Chukwueze made way for Chidera Ejuke.

Gabon’s resistance finally crumbled when a poor back pass from Appindangoye rolled straight into the path of Akor Adams. With Mbaba rushing off his line, Adams calmly slotted into the empty net to give Nigeria a deserved lead.

However, Gabon found a late equaliser when Mario Lemina’s long-range strike took a wicked deflection and wrong-footed Stanley Nwabali, the Chippa United goalkeeper, to level the score.

Osimhen then had a chance to win it in stoppage time but fired wide when clean through on goal.

The Super Eagles regained control in extra time when Ejuke fired a powerful strike into the top corner to restore their lead. Osimhen then took centre stage, latching onto a defence-splitting pass before coolly finishing into the bottom corner for his first goal of the night. Moments later, he added another with a fierce effort that also found the bottom left corner to seal a convincing win.

Nigeria will now face the winner between Cameroon and DR Congo, who are set to meet later on Thursday at Stade El Barid.

The playoff final will take place at Complexe Sportif Prince Héritier Moulay El Hassan in Rabat, Morocco, on Sunday.

The winner of Africa’s play-offs will then advance to a six-team intercontinental tournament, scheduled for 23–31 March 2026, which will determine the final two qualifiers for next year’s World Cup.