Kelechi Iheanacho’s first-half double helped Nigeria beat Liberia 2-0 to begin their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign with a win on Friday.
- Kelechi Iheanacho scores both goals in Nigeria’s 2-0 win against Liberia on Friday
- Wilfred Ndidi also starred for the Super Eagles in Lagos
- Patson Daka’s Zambia and Daniel Amartey’s Ghana also both won their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying openers
Alongside Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, Iheanacho started from the off at Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos and it didn’t take the striker long to make his mark on the game.
First, he drove home a low effort to open the scoring on 22 minutes before again combining with Everton’s Alex Iwobi to make it 2-0 before the break.
That’s the way it stayed, with Iheanacho playing 85 minutes and Ndidi completing the full 90 as Nigeria topped Group C with an opening victory.
Over in Group B, fellow forward Patson Daka played from start to finish in Zambia’s 2-1 qualifying triumph against Mauritania.
The Olympic Stadium in Nouakchott was the venue as Enock Mwepu opened the scoring for the visitors after only 10 minutes before Prince Mumba made it 2-0 after the interval.
Niass Amadou did pull a goal back for the hosts, but Zambia held out to claim all three points at the start of their qualification campaign.
Later in the evening, defender Daniel Amartey played the full 90 minutes for Ghana, who started their Group G journey with a 1-0 win against Ethiopia.
It was Mubarak Wakaso’s 35th-minute effort that proved to be enough for Amartey’s nation at Cape Coast Stadium in Ghana.
A host of Foxes could be in international action over the weekend, so stay tuned to LCFC.com for updates on their progress.
