Two goals against the Atlas Lions tomorrow will put Victor James Osimhen at par with Nigeria’s revered ‘goalsfather’ Rashidi Yekini in the number of goals scored for the Nigeria national team at the senior level. The Galatasaray of Turkey forward has 35 goals in 51 matches, while ‘Goalsfather’ netted 37 times in his 58 matches for the country.

At just 27 years of age and at the peak of his powers, Osimhen is easily tipped to score many more goals for Nigeria, effectively breaking the record set by the gangling poacher of blessed memory. At the time Yekini passed on May 4, 2012, Osimhen’s name was yet to come into reckoning at the international level.

He rang his bell to the universal audience in 2015, when he emerged as the top scorer (with 10 goals) and second most valuable player of the FIFA U17 World Cup tournament that Nigeria won in Chile that year.

History beckons on the former SSC Napoli forward on Wednesday night, as the 90-minute battle, for which he will have Alex Iwobi, Akor Adams and Ademola Lookman providing valuable support, offers him the opportunity to equal the great man’s tally.

Iwobi, who has been extraordinary at this AFCON, is set to win his 96th cap for the country, taking him closer to the century mark of former captain Joseph Yobo and former goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who garnered 101. Ahmed Musa remains the man with the record at 111 caps.

Meanwhile, Franco-Malian manager, Éric Sékou Chelle, will walk inside the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium with springs in his steps, having never lost a competitive match in regulation time since taking over Nigeria’s ‘A’ squad 12 months ago.

Chelle’s tally is a tidy 11 wins in 17 matches of the Super Eagles, with five draws, and losing once in regulation time to the Pharaohs of Egypt when Nigeria put out an understrength squad in a friendly in Cairo on December 16. (Guardian)

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