Victor Boniface is in the spotlight as Nigeria aim for early AFCON qualification

With Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen out injured, Bayer Leverkusen's Victor Boniface will be in the spotlight and have another opportunity to prove he can translate his club form to the international stage.

The Super Eagles will face Libya's Mediterranean Knights in a double-header qualifier for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. Nigeria will host the first match at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Friday evening. The second leg will take place on Tuesday evening at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium in Benina, 19 kilometers from Libya's second largest city Benghazi.

Once again the Nigerians have a lot to offer with their squad. In addition to Boniface, there are Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi, Moses Simon, Kelechi Iheanacho, Taiwo Awoniyi and Wilfred Ndidi, among others.

They also had a good start in life under Augustine Eguavoen, but can they keep going?

It's time for Boniface to recover

The Leverkusen striker has failed to score in eight games of his Super Eagles career, including disappointing performances in the absence of Osimhen when he was in the middle of his transfer tug-of-war with Napoli.

There is no doubt about Boniface's talent, quality or confidence. The problem is that he simply hasn't been able to bring the same performance at club level to the national team.

And it's not for lack of options. He came close several times, including in the last two games, but the finishing touch eluded him.

Osimhen's injury gives the Leverkusen man, who has scored five goals in his last six appearances for the German Bundesliga club, another opportunity to stake his claim in a tougher battle for the place as Nigeria's top striker.

If he starts as expected, look for a very aggressive, direct path to goal.

Not that the 23-year-old seems too worried about his international dry spell: “We have Awoniyi, we have Kelechi and me,” he told ESPN.

“Whoever is asked to do so will try to win the game, that’s the most important thing.”

“Why should the burden fall on me? Like I said, we have other players and we don't know who will start for now. But the three of us are ready to give 100 percent to win.”

Eguavoen needs to continue his strong start

The interim coach has been full of confidence since their four-point start to AFCON qualifying – and in truth it could well have been six points if they had turned their dominance over Rwanda into goals in Kigali.

Eguavoen has set the team's goal of taking all six points from Libya, which would all but ensure their place in the finals: “We have to be practical.”

“Our best and safest route to the finals is to get the six points in the games against Libya and to have a place in Morocco more or less assured before matchday five. We don’t want to be afraid of the race-in in this qualifying campaign.”

Eguavoen's confidence, especially after recently being confirmed by the NFF that he will retain the position for at least the rest of the qualifiers, comes despite the absence of his star striker.

He said: “I admit that we will miss Victor (Osimhen), but I believe in the other strikers available who will give us the goals that will give us the three points in Uyo and the three points in Libya.”

One of them is the red-hot Ademola Lookman, who continues to stake his claim to replace Osimhen as Africa's Player of the Year.

The Atalanta striker will once again be counted on to create and finish chances for the Super Eagles against a Libyan side in turmoil.

Should he pull it off and win the Super Eagles as expected, it would further boost Eguavoen's reputation. The former defender held a winning record in each of the last three occasions he took charge of the team.

Libya hopes to limit the damage

Nasser Al-Hadhiri's team was hit by boycotts and injuries, leading the local press to describe the game against Nigeria as a “near-impossible mission”.

According to coach Al-Hadhiri, three players, Hamdou El-Ouni, Sand Al-Warfali and Mohamed Al-Munir, all from Al Ahly Tripoli, have rejected call-ups to the national team. Three others are out due to injury; Ahmed Al-Tarbi from Al Ahly Tripoli, Mohammed Al-Tabbal from Al Nasr and Ali Youssef from Club Africaine.

“We know it is difficult to win against Nigeria,” said the coach. “But we want to come back with a draw that will be positive for us and restore our hope in the fight for qualification.”

Stranger things have happened.