Victor Osimhen took his tally to 25 goals in 40 senior appearances for Nigeria

Osimhen leads Nigeria to first World Cup qualifying win

Victor Osimhen inspired Nigeria to their first win in World Cup 2026 qualifying while Algeria and South Africa moved to the top of their groups.

The on-loan Galatasaray forward netted both goals in Nigeria’s 2-0 Group C victory in Rwanda, and the Super Eagles are now four points behind South Africa halfway through the campaign.

Bafana Bafana moved to the summit after overcoming a stubborn Lesotho side 2-0 thanks to second-half strikes from Relebohile Mofokeng and Jayden Adams.

Elsewhere, DR Congo moved level on points with surprise Group B leaders Sudan as Theo Bongonda’s powerful effort secured a 1-0 win over South Sudan after a disjointed display in Kinshasa.

Only the nine group winners are assured of a place at the expanded 48-team World Cup finals next year.

Meanwhile, Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea registered comfortable wins, with Emilio Nsue scoring for the latter on his return to action following a row over his eligibility.

There are five more qualifiers on Friday, with Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Morocco all in action.

Returning Osimhen gets Nigeria back on track

Nigeria’s bid for a place at the finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada was in the balance after taking just three points from their first four matches.

Osimhen had been absent through injury from all those games, played across November 2023 and June last year, and had spoken befire the crucial trip to Kigali of how “desperate” he and his team-mates are to reach the tournament.

The pressure was also on new boss Eric Chelle, who is the first non-Nigerian African to take charge of the Super Eagles.

But Osimhen settled any nerves in the 11th minute when he was left unmarked at the back post to guide in Ademola Lookman’s free-kick.

And the striker capitalised on hesitant defending before racing clear and dinking past the onrushing keeper to double the lead in first-half injury time.

Nigeria move up to fourth in Group C, behind South Africa, Benin and Rwanda, and will host bottom side Zimbabwe in their next match on Tuesday.

Nsue finds net after ban

Emilio Nsue points to his head with his right hand as he celebrates a goal for Equatorial Guinea

Emilio Nsue won the golden boot at Afcon 2023, scoring five goals in four games

One other talisman who netted on his return to action was Nsue, the top scorer at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations who was then remarkably ruled ineligible to play for Equatorial Guinea by Fifa.

Forced to sit out the qualifying campaign for the 2025 Afcon, the 35-year-old was available again following a second request by his national federation to the world governing body.

Nsue needed just 14 minutes to net against Sao Tome e Principe and extend his all-time national record to 23 goals for the National Thunder.

The striker was then involved in the build-up for the second goal three minutes later which ended with Iban Salvador guiding his shot home after brilliant interplay with Jose Machin inside the box.

Equatorial Guinea are fifth in Group H, seven points behind leaders Tunisia, having been handed two 3-0 defeats after Nsue appeared and scored in their first two qualifiers.

Amoura at the double for Algeria

Algeria moved back to the top of Group G, on goal difference ahead of Mozambique, following a 3-1 win against Botswana in a sweltering Francistown.

Amine Gouiri broke the deadlock just before half time with a header which home keeper Goitseone Phoko fumbled over the line, and two smart finishes after the break from Mohamed Amoura gave the North Africans their fourth win in five outings.

Burkina Faso went second in Group A as former Aston Villa forward Bertrand Traore netted in their 4-1 win over Djibouti.

Josue Tiendrebeogo, Mohamed Zougrana and Lassina Traore also found the net for the Stallions, who hosted the game in the Moroccan city of El Jadida.

Egypt can open up a five-point gap to the West Africans if the Pharaohs beat Ethiopia on Friday night (21:00 GMT).