Maligned, mocked and verbally mauled, Paul Onuachu chose the most historic of places to remind critics of his quality as he grabbed a sumptuous third to wrap Nigeria’s qualifying run on an unbeaten.
Victor Osimhen, the most lively of the evening opened scoring in the first half before setting Oghenekaro Etebo for Nigeria’s second.
Onuachu scored his second goal in as many matches as he latched on to a through ball before unleashing a nice left-footed shot at the Lesotho goal. The Genk attacker who is Nigeria’s top scorer in Europe with 25 goals was ignored in the initial list released for the final qualifying games beforfe absences saw him get invited again.
Lesotho lost the first leg 4-2 in Maseru and played second fiddle all evening as the Nigerian team impressed in Lagos. It was the Super Eagles’ first match in the nation’s commercial epicentre since a friendly match against Sierra Leone in 2011.
The Lagos fans cheered the Nigerians on in the game that was arguably the Super Eagles’ best performance in all their six matches in the qualifiers.
Nigeria finished top of group L with 14 points and will be joined by either Sierra Leone or Benin after both teams play in Freetown.