Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, and Samuel Chukwueze all had first-half opportunities to put the Super Eagles in front, but they were unsuccessful. As a result, the Saudis, who had lost their previous six games in a row across all competitions, shocked everyone by taking the lead on the hour mark when goalkeeper Francis Uzoho palmed a Salman Al Faraj free-kick from far out on the right flank into his own net.
Coach Jose Peseiro introduced Terem Moffi for the injured Victor Osimhen, and brought in Bright Osayi-Samuel, Kelechi Iheanacho and Moses Simon to relieve Tyronne Ebuehi, Lookman and Chukwueze.
This appeared to improve Nigeria’s lot at the fore, as Iheanacho and Simon rattled the Falcons’ defence at will, and Simon was the architect of Nigeria’s equalizer, when he did a yeoman’s job to lay the ball to Victor Boniface to score his first Nigeria goal from a tight angle in the 73rd minute.
Eight minutes later, Iheanacho drove the ball powerfully into the net beyond the flailing hands of the Falcons’ goalie, after Moffi and Simon combined to put the opposing defence in knots.
The game came less than 24 hours after the Super Eagles learnt they would be playing hosts Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau and Equatorial Guinea in the group phase at the Africa Cup of Nations early next year, and 48 hours after they adopted ‘Let’s Do It Again’ as their mantra for the trophy quest in Cote d’Ivoire.
On Monday, the Super Eagles will take on the Mambas of Mozambique in another friendly encounter at the same venue, before 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe next month.
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