'I'm not impressed' - CAR match-winner Namnganda aims dig at Osimhen, Iheanacho, Simon

Published: October 09, 2021

An unknown quantity until Thursday, Les Herbiers striker Karl Namnganda emerged as the hero for Central African Republic after scoring a late, late winner in their shock 1-0 victory over the Super Eagles in a 2022 World Cup qualifying match.

Namnganda took advantage of a defensive mix-up between William Troost-Ekong and Leon Balogun to slot past goalkeeper Francis Uzoho in the 90th minute for a win no one saw coming.

It was an impressive victory by the Central Africans as they managed to secure all three points without their biggest star, Atlético de Madrid midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia.

The 25-year-old Namnganda claims that he has respect for Super Eagles strikers Victor Osimhen, Moses Simon and Kelechi Iheanacho but wasn't impressed by them.

Asked to comment on only Les Fauves believing they could win in Nigeria, Namnganda told Sofoot : "Probably yes.

"But as far as I'm concerned, even though I have a lot of respect for Osimhen, Moses or Iheanacho, I'm not impressed. They're just men, and then it's all about fighting spirit."

Central African Republic coach Raoul Savoy had prepared a defensive game plan, playing with up to eight players behind the ball, while catching the Super Eagles on the break.

Namnganda says he noticed that the Super Eagles stars especially Osimhen became frustrated after failing to break the deadlock as the game entered the last quarter.

"Our idea was to play hard, to hold out as long as possible, to make them doubt. Nigeria were the big favorites, their players seemed quite serene, calm before the match. We expected them to put pressure on us, to score very quickly.

"And then, we held on, and the more the match progressed, the more I felt the Nigerians getting impatient, getting annoyed.

"They had chances, Osimhen found the bar. He got a little nervous, because he couldn't find the frame.

"The last quarter of an hour was quite long, because the Nigerians were looking at all costs to score.

"Defensively, we played a very big game.We had to hold on, hold on again, to hope for a point, which would have already been a very big performance," he added.

The Super Eagles have already landed in Douala, Cameroon ahead of Sunday afternoon's clash against Central African Republic.

Igho Kingsley

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