President George Oppong Weah of Liberia could not stop singing the praises of Super Eagles’ forward Victor Osimhen during the AFCON Qualifying match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Leone stars of Sierra Leone.
Seated in the Presidential box as Nigeria tackled Sierra Leone in the Day 5 game of their group for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, Weah could not hide his excitement and admiration for Osimhen as he exhibited his skills
Osimhen had displayed his excellent skills during the just concluded season in which he scored 25 league goals to steer SC Napoli to their first Italian Serie A title in 33 years,
President Weah, who was the 1995 World, European and African Footballer of the Year had written a personal letter to Osimhen asking him to keep working hard and breaking new grounds.
On Sunday, as he sat in the Presidential box of the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Paynesville with Nigeria’s Ambassadors to Liberia and Sierra Leone (Excellencies Godfrey Odudigbo and Henry Omakwu respectively), President of NFF, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, NFF Board Members Rt. Hon. Nse Essien and Sunday Dele-Ajayi, among others, Weah could not stop singing Osimhen’s praises.
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The Napoli forward did not disappoint, with 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.”
The Nigeria forward is now the leading scorer in the qualifying series with seven goals, and has now racked up an impressive tally of 17 goals in 25 matches for Nigeria at the senior level.
Osimhen’s seven goals in this qualifying campaign include the one goal he scored against Sierra Leone in Abuja in June 2022 to eventually give Nigeria a 2-1 win and three points on the first day of the series, and four of the 10 goals against Sao Tome and Principe in Agadir, Morocco few days later, on a day Nigeria set a new international win-record.
Nigeria will host group whipping boys, Sao Tome and Principe in a purely academic exercise in September.
Editor: Paul Akhagbemhe
