'Absolutely not' - Super Eagles' saviour against Lesotho, Ajayi insists Crocodiles were not underrated 

West Brom central defender Semi Ajayi proved to be Nigeria's saviour in their 1-1 draw against Lesotho as his headed goal prevented the three-time African champions from suffering an embarrassing home loss to the Crocodiles. 

The former Arsenal U21 skipper made it clear that the Crocodiles were not treated as the underdogs heading into the matchday one 2026 World Cup qualifier at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.  

Ajayi reflected on the Super Eagles missed several chances and vowed that the team will right the ship in their next outing against Zimbabwe. 

Kelechi Iheanacho and Ademola Lookman had opportunities to break the deadlock in the first half but did not convert. 

Iheanacho was on the cusp of scoring his fifteenth goal for Nigeria, from a free-kick, in the 34th minute, and the Atalanta man was was denied by a great save by the Lesotho goalkeeper. 

When asked at the post-match press conference if the Super Eagles players underrated Lesotho, Ajayi answered: "Absolutely not. We took this game very seriously, we gave our best, we didn't take them lightly.

"We prepared the game as we prepare for every game. I think we're just unfortunate not to take a few chances but we'll learn from this and we'll definitely come back stronger in the next game."

Ajayi has scored 29 career goals for three different clubs but it has taken him 1,727 minutes spread across 27 matches to score his first international goal.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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