The former Manchester City forward was on the scoresheet as the two intercontinental giants battled to a thrilling draw
Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho has reacted to Nigeria’s 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia in an international friendly at the Estádio Municipal de Portimão on Friday evening, Soccernet.ng reports.
Iheanacho started the game on the bench as head coach Jose Peseiro preferred Victor Boniface and Victor Osimhen to lead the attack for the Super Eagles.
Nigeria created the best chances of the encounter in the opening hour. Still, they fell behind against the run of play after goalkeeper Francis Uzoho made a mess of Salman Al Faraj’s direct free-kick.
Iheanacho replaced Samuel Chukwueze five minutes later, and the Super Eagles celebrated their equaliser in the 73rd minute through an Abdulelah Al Amri own goal.
The Leicester City striker smashed Nigeria into the lead with a brilliant left-footed effort into the top corner from the 2dge of the box in the 81st minute.
The Super Eagles could not hold on for the win, though, as Mohamed Kanno’s deflected free-kick deep into stoppage time earned Saudi Arabia a share of the spoils.
The draw means Nigeria have not won any of their last 15 friendly games, a poor run that extends back to 2019. It also ended the Super Eagles’ three-game winning streak in all competitions, which included victories over Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and São Tomé and Príncipe.
After the encounter, Iheanacho was disappointed that Nigeria could not pull off the win the team desired against Saudi Arabia.
But the former Manchester City forward was keen on moving on to the Super Eagles next match.
Iheanacho wrote on Twitter: “Not the result we wanted. We learn and focus on the next game.”
Not the result we wanted
— Kelechi Iheanacho (@67Kelechi) October 13, 2023
We learn and focus on the next game
🇳🇬🇳🇬🇳🇬🇳🇬🦅🦅 pic.twitter.com/66U7i5h1Yd
Nigeria will next trade tackles with Mozambique on Monday, October 16, in another international friendly in Portugal.
