Odemwingie Sees Nigeria Through

Nigeria’s big names finally shined on Wednesday.

A brace from Lokomotiv Moscow forward Peter Odemwingie and a insurance tally from late substitute Obafemi Martins led Nigeria into the African Cup of Nations quarterfinals with a 3-0 win over Mozambique.

With the three points, Nigeria finishes second in Group C, behind Egypt, and will face Group D’s winner in the quarterfinals.

The opening half was played evenly, with Nigeria generating the slightly better of the opportunities against an organized Mozambique defense.

It was not the organization that failed the Mambas on Odemwingie’s opener, a shot toward the near post that got under goalkeeper Kapango, sending the Super Eagles into half up 1-0.

The Mamba organization did fail them on Odemwingie’s second goal, as Yakubu Ayeg Beni lead a counter down the Eagles’ left flank, eventually crossing for Odemwingie for an easy finish.

After the second goal, the match played out as a fe accompli, Nigeria posting their best performance of the tournament.

That performance was capped when Obafemi Martins, thought out for the tournament while struggling with a persistent shin problem, scored in the 85th minute.

Mozambique failed to consistently mount an attack against a Nigeria defense that was missing center half Joseph Yobo, who continues to struggle with a leg injury picked up in the Eagles’ first match.  The back four Nigeria had in place for the Benin match – Danny Shittu, Onyekachi Apam, Uwa Echiejile, and Yusuf Mohammed – kept their second consecutive clean sheet, with Nigeria going through with a +1 differential.

Mozambique finishes the tournament with one point from their draw with Benin, their -5 differential putting them in last place in Group D.