Victor Boniface was among one of the players who didn’t perform to their best expected level when the Super Eagles defeated Benin Republic 3-0 on Saturday in the AFCON 2025 qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Boniface was subbed off after 73 minutes for Victor Osimhen who scored Nigeria’s second goal in the huge win at the Godswill Akpabio stadium in Uyo. It means the Bayer Leverkusen forward is yet to score for Nigeria.
It is no doubt a source of concern because of the way he was prolific for Belgium side USG and also Bayer Leverkusen last season in the German Bundesliga. Last season in just 23 league games he scored 14 goals with eight assists.
Explaining the reason behind why the 23 year old has been drawing blanks for the Super Eagles, a senior player in the team said it’s down to formation and lately his fitness isn’t at its best yet after the lengthy injury that cost him a spot in the team for the AFCON.
” It’s a combination of the style and needing time to get the rhythm. When Jose Peseiro was the coach we played a one man attack in ten game that he played and for his debut he was behind the main striker. At Leverkusen he plays as the top striker in a two man attack, so you see the style is different”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.
” Also don’t forget playing in the national team setup requires time since it’s not a day to day thing like playing for your club. Ademola Lookman didn’t hit it until after spending an extended time with the team in camp before the AFCON. Today he is on fire, so let’s be patient with Boniface and not forget that he only recently returned from a lengthy layoff. Not at his best physical condition yet”.
