THE Nigerian men’s senior football team, Super Eagles, ended their 15 consecutive international friendly matches winless streak after defeating 10-man Mozambique, 3-2, at the Estadio Municipal De Portimão in Portugal, Monday evening.

The Super Eagles, who played out a 2-2 draw against Saudi Arabia last Friday, began their encounter against Mozambique with a sloppy start, which gave their opponent the early lead after Geny Catamo tapped in the ball past Nigeria’s goalkeeper Francis Uzoho into the net.

Mozambique’s early lead in the seventh minute evoked more determination in the Black Mambas as they mounted pressure in search of another goal to double the lead with a series of exchanged strings of passes to dominate possessions in the half of the Super Eagles.

But their lead was short-lived after Nigeria’s Terem Moff restored parity in the 19 minutes to ignite his team’s hope of tasting a first win after losing nine and picking six draws since claiming a 1-0 victory over Egypt in March 2019 in their past international friendly matches.

Eleven minutes later, Nigeria doubled the lead after Frank Onyeka slotted the ball into the net through a classic link with Dele-Bashiru.

In the 39 minutes, Mozambique’s Edmilson Dove was given a straight red after a rough foul on Eagles’ midfielder Joe Aribo.

Nigeria leveraged their opponent’s numerical disadvantage after Moses Simon extended the goal to three shortly before the first half.

Ten minutes into the resumption of the second half, Mozambique re-ignited their search for a goal despite being one man down as Faisal Abdul Bengal reduced the deficit after Geny Catamo assisted him.

The second goal conceded by Nigeria’s goalkeeper Francis Uzoho further raised concerns about his capacity as a capable goalie for the Eagles.

The International friendly matches are part of preparations for the 2023 African Cup of Nations, AFCON billed to be hosted by Cote d’Ivoire in January 2023.