SUPER Eagles midfielder, Kelechi Iheanacho’s  equaliser in the second half forced a 1-1 draw against Zimbabwe during the second fixture of the 2026 World Cup qualifying match played in Huye Stadium in Butare, Rwanda on Sunday.

Iheanacho’s goal prevented the Super Eagles from falling against Zimbabwe, ending in 1-1, a repetition of their first encounter against Lesotho played at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo last Friday.

The tempo built up for Super Eagles going to play against Zimbabwe was to seek redemption after struggling to secure a draw against Lesotho, but their performances did not live maximum satisfaction to the fans.

It was a cagy game with Zimbabwe dominating  possessions and forcing the Super Eagles to their pack, while denying them the opportunity to have a shot on target during the first half.

After a string of exchanges of passess to the halve of the Super Eagles, Zimbabwe took the lead in the 25 minutes through a sublime 30-yard freekick by Walter Musona.

The Super Eagles ended the first half without a shot on target.

At the resumption of action in the second half, the Super Eagles tactician, Jose Peseiro introduced Victor Boniface, Kelechi Iheanacho and Bright Osayi-Samuel to replace Nathan Tella, Frank Onyeka and Ola Aina.

The introduction of the substitution trio paid off as Kelechi Iheanacho pulled one back for Nigeria to level the game about 20 minutes left to the regulation time.

The equalizer fuelled the strength of the Super Eagles to double the lead but their attempts met the firm resistance of the host defense.

Super Eagles are on the second position of the CAF Group C of 2026 World Cup qualification after garnering 2 points from two matches.