National Teams
Finidi George hails Super Eagles second half-character against South Africa after draw
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
The head coach of Nigeria’s senior men’s national team, Finidi George has applauded his player’s character after going down in the first half of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against South Africa at Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, on Friday.
Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana picked up a point each in their much-publicized clash to leave less-fancied Lesotho perched on top of Group C of the 2026 FIFA World Cup African qualification series.
AFCON bronze medallist South Africa drew the first blood after 29 minutes when Themba Zwane waltzed his way past the Nigerian defence and was left unchallenged to fire past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali from close range.
Nigeria restored parity with only a minute into the second half, when Alex Iwobi fed Fisayo Dele-Bashiru in the box, and the Turkey-based midfielder turned brilliantly to lash past Ronwen Williams.
“I think we entered the game a little bit sloppy in the first half. We didn’t create much but I think in the second half, immediately we scored that goal we took over the game,” George said after the match.
“They had some couple moments and threatened but it wasn’t really clear. I think we had all the shots and chances to have won it.
“Overall I think it was not a bad second half from Nigerian side. Yeah, first half, I felt we should have done a little bit better or entered the game a little bit quicker. It didn’t happen. We conceded that goal but I think the players reacted so well in the second half.”
Finidi’s side will take their winless streak to the Stade Felix Houphpouet Boigny, Abidjan on Monday.
“It is not the best result that we wanted but a draw is better than losing. We will get our heads up and see how we can win the next match.” He continued.
“You get three results in football, lose, draw or win. Today is the day where we needed that win and got a draw. I am not happy about the point but the performance in the second half was really outstanding.”
The draw means Lesotho, who defeated Zimbabwe 2-0 earlier on Friday, remain top of the group with five points, while South Africa, Benin Republic and Rwanda are on four points, with Nigeria on three.