Akor Adams scored deep in added time to help Nigeria’s Super Eagles avoid defeat against Russia in a thrilling encounter in Nizhny Novgorod on Tuesday evening.
The Venezia striker came off the bench to score in the final minute of the match as he tapped the ball into an open net from substitute Umar Abubakar.
Despite having a depleted squad with several invited players absent, Eric Chelle’s men put up a decent outing against the hosts, coming from a two-goal deficit to snatch a three-all draw.
Kelechi Iheanacho marked his return to the Super Eagles on a brilliant note as he put Nigeria ahead in the 10th minute. The former Leicester City forward, off his blistering form at Bursaspor, buried a low drive from range into the bottom corner after a pass from Abdullahi Bewene.
However, the hosts took control afterwards. Lechi Sadulaev equalised in the 30th minute while Matvey Kislyak gave Russia the lead before the break.
Alexey Miranchuk made it 3-1 as he capitalised on chaos in Nigeria’s defense. Eric Chelle made changes as the game looked out of his control with the introduction of Umar for Iheanacho and Adams for Stephen Michael.
Substitute Peter Edokpolor pulled a goal back for Nigeria in the 78th minute on his senior international debut, eight minutes after he came on.
Akor Adams scored from a simple finish late in added time to bring the match to a thrilling end.
The draw eases the sting caused by the 3-0 loss to Guinea-Bissau in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
