Tag: Osimhen

Tolu Arokodare has revealed that he’s learning immensely from Super Eagles’ teammate,  Victor Osimhen, describing the Galatasaray hitman as a big  inspiration both on and off the pitch.

Arokodare, who featured in Nigeria’s 4–0 demolition of Benin Republic in the final Group C  game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Uyo, expressed  his fond admiration for the  ace striker who netted a hat-trick in the encounter.

 “Osimhen is out of this world,” Arokodare exclaimed on Snapchat after the match. “That’s some Ronaldo vs Spain kind of performance. Uncle Cristiano Victor LeBron James Osimhen! You guys don’t understand what it means to play alongside your mentor. I’m learning every single day from him — on and off the field. Thank you for the lessons and, of course, the goals too.”

The lanky striker, one of the new  faces in the Super Eagles, admitted that training and playing with Osimhen has been like attending a “master class in modern striking.”

Read Also: W’CUP26: Four- star Super  Eagles maul Benin to pick Play-Off ticket

Beyond his admiration for Osimhen, Arokodare also praised his teammates who shone in the dominant victory — especially Frank Onyeka, whose late strike sealed the rout, and Benjamin Frederick, whom he called “one for the future.”

“Uncle Frank Onyeka, thank you o! First time you enter the box, you score — keep doing that as long as you’ve got the energy to run back. Great finish, my guy, great redemption. God really showed up for us,” Arokodare added.

He also hailed Benjamin Frederick for his composure and maturity beyond his years, describing him as a “superstar in the making.”

The Wolves striker went on to appreciate the entire team, the coaching staff, and Nigerian fans for their belief and support.

 “To my teammates, goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, attackers, and coaches — may God continue to reward our sweat. And to Nigerians, thank you for praying, believing, and supporting us. Two more games to go, and the same God who started with us will finish with us.”

Nigeria’s emphatic win secured a place in the 2026 World Cup playoffs, keeping alive the Super Eagles’ dream of returning to the global stage.

SCORENigeria can exclusively report that top officials have been left hot and furious with Super Eagles coach Eric for substituting striker Victor Osimhen in Friday’s crucial 2026 World Cup clash against Lesotho.

Osimhen was replaced in the 89th minute by defender Semi Ajayi as Eric Chelle tried to lock out Lesotho from drawing level with the game precariously hanging at 2-1 in favour of Nigeria.

They have therefore warned the coach that as long as the Galatasaray star striker is not injured, he should not be substituted because his removal literally dropped the energy level of the team

“The top shots did not take kindly to Victor (Osimhen) being replaced in the match (vs Lesotho) and they even confronted the coach on this,” a source, who was present at the game in Polokwane informed only SCORENigeria

Read Also: Ballon d’Or: NFF congratulates Nnadozie, Madugu

“They have since ordered that as long as he is fit, he should be kept on the pitch because his mere presence not only scares opponents but galvanises his fellow teammates.”

The source added: “You could see how he was pushing the team from the bench when he was changed and even after the match you could see how he was addressing the squad in the huddle on the pitch with so much passion.”

Interestingly, it was the same top officials who had begged the then injured Osimhen to fly out with rest of the Eagles for last month’s crunch clash against South Africa in Bloemfontein.

Fresh off a morale-boosting 1-0 win over English champions Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League during the week, Galatasaray will host Besiktas in the Turkish Super Lig at Rams Park this weekend.

The hosts are at the top of the standings with maximum points from seven league fixtures, while the away side are fifth in the table, after six league fixtures this term with Nigerian International  striker  Victor Osimhen expected to lead the line today.

Galatasaray started their Champions League campaign in less than impressive fashion, with a 5-1 defeat to German side Eintracht Frankfurt on matchday one.

Read Also: World Cup 2026 Race: Super Eagles offered lifeline amid ‘ides of October’

However, that dismal result on the continent did not affect their performance in the domestic competition, having won two more league fixtures against Konyaspor (3-1) and most recently Alanyaspor (1-0) in their last outing in the Turkish top flight.

Back in European engagement on Wednesday, the Conqueror of Europe made a bold statement with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Liverpool, courtesy of  Osimhen’s 16th -minute strike from 12 yards.

With their eighth league fixture coming up against a familiar foe, Okan Buruk’s men will be buzzing going into  today’s encounter.

Another reason the Lions will be confident ahead of this contest is that they are firing on all cylinders in the attacking end of the pitch, with 17 goals plundered, while only two have been conceded since the start of the season.

Besiktas, on the other hand, have recorded four victories and two losses in six league matches this term. Those outcomes leave them fifth in the table with 12 points, four places adrift of the home side, as they head into this weekend’s fixture.

Victor Osimhen last night scored the winner as  Liverpool slumped to a shock 1-0 Champions League defeat to Galatasaray as the Nigeria  International’s  16^th-minute penalty handed the Turkish giants victory.

The English champions were punished for the latest in a series of poor performances in Istanbul as they suffered back-to-back defeats for only the second time under Arne Slot.

Liverpool were beaten for the first time this season at Crystal Palace on Saturday, but a series of late winners have masked an unconvincing start since a summer transformation of the squad that strolled to the Premier League title last season.

Slot responded by leaving Mohamed Salah and £125 million ($168 million) signing Alexander Isak on the bench among four changes.

Read Also: UCL: Lookman returns with start as Atalanta beat Brugge 2-1

The Dutchman was scathing in his assessment of Liverpool’s first-half performance at Palace as only Alisson Becker prevented an embarrassing half-time score.

However, Slot got little in the way of a response in another disjointed display from his array of star names.

Galatasaray had been thrashed 5-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt to start their Champions League campaign.

The Turkish champions are a far more formidable force on home soil, though, and made the most of Liverpool’s defensive deficiencies.

Slot’s decision to play midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back backfired.

Baris Alper Yilmaz gave the visitors a warning of the threat down Galatasaray’s left when he failed to beat Alisson when one-on-one with the Brazilian.

Liverpool should have led just seconds before they fell behind.

Hugo Ekitike was denied by Ugurcan Cakir as he tried to round the goalkeeper and Ismail Jakobs cleared Cody Gakpo’s follow-up effort off the line.

Galatasaray swiftly broke upfield and Yilmaz was awarded a soft penalty for a stray Szoboszlai arm into the Turkish international’s face.

Osimhen had previously seen a Champions League penalty saved by Alisson, but this time converted the resulting spot-kick.

Florian Wirtz has struggled badly to deliver on his £100 million price tag and is still waiting for his first Liverpool goal after his effort was turned behind by Cakir, while Ibrahima Konate headed just off target from a corner before half-time.

Konate’s poor form has been a major factor in the Reds’ defensive issues at the start of the season and the Frenchman nearly cost his side a second goal early in the second half.

Alisson saved his teammate’s blushes with another save from Osimhen but at a cost as the Liverpool number one suffered an injury sprinting off his line and had to be replaced by Giorgi Mamardashvili.

Slot introduced Salah and Isak on the hour mark, but Liverpool were still an impotent attacking force.

Isak fired tamely into the arms of Cakir with his first touch.

The closest the visitors came to a response was when French referee Clement Turpin initially pointed to the spot by a foul on Konate, but overturned his decision after a VAR review.

UCL: Yesterday’s Results

Atalanta 2-1 Brugge

Kairat 0-5 Madrid

Atletico 5 –1 Frankfurt

Bodø / Glimt 2-2 Tottenham

Chelsea 1 -0 Benfica

Galatasaray 1-0 Liverpool

Inter 3-0 Slavia Prague

Marseille 4 -0 Ajax

Pafos 1-5 Bayern

Galatasaray coach Orkan Buruk has stated that Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen is yet to reach full fitness and had to play through pain in their 1-0 win over Alanyaspor on Friday, Soccernet.ng reports.

After three weeks on the sidelines due to an ankle injury, Osimhen returned to action on Friday, in Galatasaray’s Super Lig game against Alanyaspor at the Gain Park Stadyumu.

The Super Eagles star was introduced as 85th-minute substitute, and helped his side see out a difficult win.

Victor Osimhen during the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Amavubi of Rwanda at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium

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After the game, coach Buruk spoke about Osimhen, and he revealed that the Super Eagles was yet to reach full fitness.

“We wanted to play Osimhen for 10 minutes today. We wanted him to experience the pain. Sometimes there’s pain, and playing through pain is important,” Buruk said, per En Son Haber.

“He’s not 100% physically ready. He hasn’t had a team training session since returning from the national team. He played briefly with us yesterday.”

Victor Osimhen has returned to full team training after he was injured in action for the Super Eagles and Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk said he expects the striker to be on the matchday squad for a Turkish Super Lig match against Alanyaspor Friday.

The coach also expects Osimhen to face Liverpool at home in the UEFA Champions League on September 30.

Read Also: Ballon d’Or: NFF congratulates Nnadozie, Madugu

“He still has minor aches and pains. We hope that if he can tolerate these and play, he will be with the team in the next match,” Okan Buruk disclosed.

” We hope he will be in the squad for the Alanya match. We will try him out in training.

“We expect him to be on the pitch for the Liverpool match as well.”

 Galatasaray, who have won their first six games in the Turkish Super Lig, were rocked by Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 in their opening Champions League group phase match.