One of the most anticipated African World Cup qualifiers of the international break, Nigeria against Algeria was pretty much decided entirely by Premier League players.
John Obi Mikel pretty much walked the ball into the back of the net for his country’s second after everyone came to a standstill, Victor Moses bagged a brace, and Nabil Bentaleb, currently loaned out by Tottenham, smashed one in from 30 yards for Algeria’s consolation.
Not only did Nigeria win 3-1, but Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi also managed to bring his showboating shoes when his country were 2-0 up by producing an eye-catching rainbow flick over an incoming Algerian opponent.
The Arsenal youngster has been an integral part of Arsene Wenger’s plans this season, but Gernot Rohr, Nigeria’s manager, speaking to the press after the game, explained this was only the beginning for Iwobi.
Relayed by Vanguard, he said: “I didn’t see [the rainbow flick] coming, but I wasn’t surprised he did it. When I met Arsene Wenger last month, we talked about Iwobi and he told me there’s more to his game than what we are seeing at the moment.
“He’s a confident lad, he’s not afraid to try new tricks in training and games. He can only get better, his best is yet to come.”
Now comfortably top of their group after two games after Cameroon drew with Zambia, Nigeria already have a four point lead as they look to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
