Nigerians in France: Echegini fires PSG to Cup win; Simon’s Nantes stumble; Oyewusi shine

Friday, February 7, 2025, was a day of mixed fortunes for Nigerian footballers in France, as Jennifer Echegini and Mathias Oyewusi celebrated fine victories while Moses Simon endured a home league defeat, Soccernet.ng reports.

Jennifer Echegini opened the scoring for PSG in a commanding 4-0 win away at Le Mans in the quarterfinals of the Coupe de France Féminine.

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The Nigeria international found the net in under two minutes, setting the tone for a dominant performance by the Parisians at Stade Marie-Marvingt. Further goals from Albert, Geyoro, and Leuchter sealed PSG’s place in the semifinals.

PSG will now face the winner of the quarterfinal tie between Lille and Saint-Étienne.

Since joining PSG from Juventus in July, Echegini has scored three goals in eight league appearances and added two more in the cup.

Meanwhile, Moses Simon’s bid to claim Ligue 1’s newly introduced Top Playmaker badge hit a setback as Nantes fell to a 2-0 home defeat against Brest.

Simon, who has registered six assists this season, was unable to add to his tally as Nantes fired blanks for the first time in ten games.

Interestingly, Simon created the most chances in the game, but none were converted by his teammates.

The Canaries were undone by Ludovic Ajorque’s ninth-minute opener before Pierre Lees-Melou sealed Brest’s victory in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Elsewhere, Mathias Oyewusi played a crucial role in Valenciennes’ 2-1 comeback win at Châteauroux in the French National 1.

Châteauroux took the lead in first-half stoppage time through Mathis Clairicia, but Oyewusi provided the assist for Kylian Gasnier’s immediate equalizer. Sambou Sissoko then netted the winner in the 52nd minute.

With this victory, fourth-placed Valenciennes are now just four points behind the playoff spots.

In the same division, Jimmy Evans was in action for Nancy as the league leaders stumbled to a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Villefranche.

Despite the setback, Nancy remain top of the National 1 table, three points ahead of second-placed Boulogne, who have a game in hand.