Galatasaray star Victor Osimhen scored his first international hattrick in two years to drag the Super Eagles of Nigeria to a 4-0 win over Benin in their final Group C of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Soccernet.ng reports.

Nigeria welcomed Benin to the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in their final game of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers on Tuesday.

Going into the fixture, the Super Eagles did not have their fate in their hands, as they needed to defeat Benin and hope that South Africa drop points against Rwanda in Mbombela. Otherwise, they would need to score three goals at least to be in a decent position to make the playoffs.

Benin looked quite good from the blast of the whistle and looked like they could really match Nigeria, but it took three minutes for them to fall behind.

Samuel Chukwueze linked up well with Osimhen, feeding the big striker with a fine pass into the box. Osimhen took no prisoners, as he smashed the ball into the net from close range to make it 1-0.

After going a goal down, Benin got into the game, but they failed to create any meaningful opportunity. Nigeria had their moments, but they had to wait until the 37th minute, and it was that telepathic connection with Chukwueze that paid off again.

Chukwueze, despite being marked by a player by the corner flag, swung a teasing cross towards the back post. Osimhen took no prisoners, as he out-jumped his marker and planted a fine header into the net to make it 2-0. They eventually took that that lead unto

Benin started the second half pretty well and had an opportunity for Andreas Hountondji, which Stanley Nwabali saved.

More to follow…