Matter of stats BEN v NGA: Lookman top dribbler, Osimhen top shooter, Ndidi top tackler, Bassey touches

Nigeria secured their spot in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations as winners of Group D of qualifying following a 1-1 draw with neighbors Republic of Benin at Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny on Thursday night.

Benin took the lead in the 16th minute when Mohamed Tijani scored with a header from a corner kick delivered by Junior Olaïtan

Victor Osimhen prevented the Super Eagles from suffering another embarrassing loss to the Cheetahs with nine minutes remaining when he scored the equalizer.

The Galatasaray superstar got his 23rd goal for his country in his 38th appearance, heading home a perfect delivery from super-sub Moses Simon.

Allnigeriasoccer.com looks at the key statistics from the hard-fought draw against the Cheetahs.

Super Eagles number 9, Osimhen registered the most shots with two on target and one off target. 

Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman completed the most dribbles (2), placing first ahead of his teammates Bruno Onyemaechi, Wilfred Ndidi, Moses Simon and Ola Aina, Benin trio Yohan Roche, Andreas Hountondji and Junior Olaitan who managed one each. 

Central defender Calvin Bassey saw the ball more than any other player, finishing with a game-high 103 touches, ahead of Ndidi (95), Onyemaechi (84), William Troost-Ekong (83) and Aina (68).

Junior Olaitan earned rave reviews for his impressive performance against the Super Eagles, but on the flip side, the midfielder of Nigerian descent lost possession the most (21), followed by Nigerian duo Troost-Ekong and Onyemaechi who both gave away possession on seventeen occasions each.

Ndidi was among the highest rated players by allnigeriasoccer.com after the game and the statistics back up his impressive performance. 

Ndidi registered a team-high six defensive actions, made a game-high three tackles. He also won a team-high four aerial duels and a game-high ten duels. 

The Leicester City midfielder was accurate with 69 of his 77 passes, trailing only Calvin Bassey (76) for the most successful passes, though the two Super Eagles stars had a passing accuracy of 90 percent.

Benin duo Olaitan and Steve Mounié led the way in key passes (3), while Simon was Nigeria's top man with two key passes despite playing only the second half. 

Osimhen was flagged offside the most (3) while Hassane Imourane was the top interceptor (2).

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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