Key results

Nigeria 4 Cameroon 0

Having already won in Zambia and at home to Algeria, Nigeria saw this third group game as an opportunity to stamp their authority on CAF Group B – and they did just that with a 4-0 drubbing of recently crowned Africa Cup of Nations winners Cameroon.

John Obi Mikel (above) was at the heart of most of the hosts’ attacking play, and it was his clever assist that played in Odion Ighalo for the opener after half an hour. The Nigerian captain scored the second himself before half-time, stabbing home an admittedly poor corner from Victor Moses.

With Cameroon chasing the game in the second half, Nigeria were able to play on the counter-attack. Moses buried a low shot from the edge of the box early in the half, with Kelechi Iheanacho heading the fourth late on. The Super Eagles had one collective foot on the plane to Russia.

Algeria 3 Nigeria 0

The story from Nigeria’s final qualifier – effectively a dead rubber with their finals spot already confirmed – was written more off the field than on it. An initial 1-1 draw in Algeria, Yacine Brahimi’s late penalty securing a draw for the hosts, was turned into a 3-0 defeat after it transpired that Nigerian full-back Abdullahi Shehu should have been suspended from the game after picking up a yellow in the 1-0 victory over Zambia (below) that had assured their qualification.

The Super Eagles were more than happy to accept the amended result and accompanying fine, safe in the knowledge that it would not put their World Cup status in jeopardy. But the mistake did shine a light on the potential for organisational difficulties in a team whose tournament history is not without its controversies. They will be hoping for a smoother passage in Russia, where there are hopes that they can reach the last eight at a finals for the first time.