September 03, (THEWILL) – On Friday, while the Super Eagles of Nigeria were prosecuting their Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Liberia at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, at the Olympic stadium in Nouakchott, Zambia picked up a vital away victory, beating the hosts Mauritania 2-1.
The visitors got into the lead in the 10th minute when Enoch Mwepu found the back of the net with a neat right-footed finish.
The visitors held on to this lead till the interval no matter how hard Mauritania tried to level matters.
The Chipolopolo doubled their tally in the second period when Prince Mumba finished off a move that was initiated by Patson Daka, Kelechi Iheanacho’s Leicester City teammate from the English Premier League.
However, the Mauritania players did not bow their heads in resignation. They were not about to go down without a fight and nine minutes after the hour mark, their resilience paid off.
They halved the deficit when Amadou Niass found the back of the net with an effort from inside the box.
The hosts sought to push through for an equaliser, riding on the momentum of the late pressure. But in their attempts to scrape off a point, the Mauritanians were not clinical enough. That allowed the Zambians to hold off for the win.
The three points give Zambia the early lead of Group B in the qualifying series but that is until the other pair of countries, Equatorial Guinea and Tunisia clash in their 8.00pm fixture on Friday.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
