Benin Republic midfielder, Jordel Dossou, has revealed the tactic that saw them outsmart the Nigerian defence in their 2-1 win in a 2026 World Cup qualifier on Monday night.
Dossou made it 1-1 in Abidjan, after Raphael Onyedika had opened the scoring for the Super Eagles.
He stole in behind Calvin Bassey and Semi Ajayi to net an even better equaliser.
Ajayi missed his clearance header, and Bassey dilly-dallied on the ball, allowing Dossou to nick the ball and finish past goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali.
Dossou has now revealed his chats with teammate Steve Mounié before his goals.
“This style of play was worked on in training. We know that Mounié Steve wins almost all duels,” Dossou said as per 24haubenin.
“Well before the goal action, Steve called me and told me that since Ajayi (Nigeria player ) is on me all the time, I’ll have to change my strategy.
“On the first occasion, he let the ball pass, too bad I missed it. For the second time, I hid behind the defender, and as soon as Steve let the ball go. I appeared and stole the ball from him to equalize.”
2026 WCQ: How we outsmarted Super Eagles – Benin’s midfielder, Dossou
