Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen has the opportunity to equal or even surpass Obafemi Martins on the Super Eagles’ all-time goalscorers list if he scores in the match against São Tomé and Príncipe.
Nigeria is set to face São Tomé and Príncipe in a Group A clash as part of the AFCON qualifiers, and Osimhen could make history in this match.
During Nigeria’s 2023 AFCON qualifiers game against Sierra Leone, Osimhen scored a brace, bringing his total goals for the Super Eagles to 17. This achievement put him level with Sunday Oyarekhua and Samson Siasia as the joint-sixth all-time goalscorer for the national team.
Osimhen has already overtaken other Super Eagles veterans like Odion Ighalo and Ahmed Musa, both of whom have 16 goals each for the national team.
To break into the top five all-time goalscorers for Nigeria, Osimhen needs just one more goal to surpass Obafemi Martins, who has 18 goals to his name.
Furthermore, Osimhen has his sights set on breaking Rashidi Yekini’s long-standing record as the Super Eagles’ all-time highest goalscorer. Yekini scored 37 goals for Nigeria before retiring in 1998. Osimhen is currently 20 goals away from equaling this national record.
However, before attempting to break Yekini’s record, Osimhen must first surpass the second-placed Segun Odegbami, who scored 23 goals, and third-placed Yakubu Aiyegbeni, who recorded 21 goals for the national team. Ikechukwu Uche is in fourth place with 19 goals.
Osimhen, who has established himself as one of the top attackers in the world, could potentially make history if he continues his current form and remains fit leading up to the 2023 AFCON tournament in Ivory Coast in January.
