By Etienne Mainimo Mengnjo,

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have rekindled hopes of qualifying for the next African Cup of Nations, AFCON, after beating Seychelles by 3-0 at Stade Linite in Victoria on Saturday September 8, 2018.

Nigeria dominated from the kick-off and took the lead in the 15th minute as Ahmed Musa sent a left-footed volley toward goal, with the ball rebounding off the underside of the crossbar before bouncing in off the body of Seychelles goalkeeper Dave Mussard.

The tally increases at the 34 minutes, with Chidozie Awaziem steering a shot into an empty net after Kelechi Iheanacho’s initial effort direct from a free kick rebounded off the upright and left Mussard with no chance to recover.

Two minutes after, Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo nearly scored the third goal when he sprung the offside trap and lobbed the goalkeeper, only to see his effort hit the top of the crossbar and bounce back into play.

12 minutes into the second half, Odion Ighalo converting a penalty which was won by Samuel Kalu to put the Super Eagles on three goals. All through the match, Seychelles had only one chance to pull a goal back at the 63 minutes

The two teams will return to AFCON qualifying action in October, with Nigeria taking on Libya and the Seychelles takes on South Africa.

During the first day, Nigeria lost to visiting South Africa while Seychelles was heavily beating 5-1 by Libya.