Nigeria vs Zimbabwe: No Osimhen No Party and 2 other lessons from the disappointing draw

The Super Eagles failed to do the job against Zimbabwe, settling for another 1-1 draw after conceding late in the game. Here are the lessons from the game.

Victor Osimhen, who scored a brace in Nigeria’s 2-0 win over Rwanda last Friday, headed home a fine cross from Ola Aina to put the Super Eagles ahead before Zimbabwe equalised via Tawanda Chirewa in the 90th minute.

The draw leaves the Super Eagles with just seven points after six matches, with the dream of making it to the 2026 FIFA World Cup now almost fading away.

Here are the things we learnt in the draw

One thing is clear, Osimhen is the main man in the Super Eagles. Not like anyone will likely argue that point by now but it needs to be echoed to the end of the world.

The striker missed Nigeria’s opening four matches of the 2026 WCQ through injury, and the team failed to win a single game without him.

His goals are the real deal, but his presence, leadership and energy are what lifts the teams even in their lowest moments.

Now on 26 goals, Osimhen is 11 goals behind the nation’s leading scorer, Rasheedi Yekini (37), but he now has the best goal ratio among the top-10 all-time scorers.

Osimhen is the man but many times, like today, his efforts might not be enough. Other players found themselves in great positions in the game and failed to take the right action, either through passing or through shooting.

The Super Eagles have blessed with great players like Ademola Lookman, Moses Simon and Alex Iwobi, but they need to have the same mentality as the Galatasaray man.