AFCON 2025
Compared to the likes of Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Samuel Chukwueze among other Super Eagles forwards, Benin Republic don’t have players in that calibre but they do have decent qualities to hurt the three-time African champions. One of them is Tosin Aiyegun.
The Super Eagles need to beat Benin Republic on Tuesday to stand any chance of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup and one of the players Troost-Ekong and Calvin Bassey must be weary of is the Lorient striker Tosin Aiyegun.
Tosin Aiyegun scored the only goal on Friday night as Benin Republic maintained their grip on top of Group C with a late win over Rwanda in Kigali.
Aiyegun, 27 came on as a second half substitute and bagged the only goal of the tie in the 80th minute.
Below are three things to know about the Beninese striker
1. Nigerian descent.
Tosin Aiyegun was born in Lagos to a Nigerian father and a Beninese mother but called up to the Benin national team in 2022 and scored on his debut in a 4-0 win over Liberia.
2. Plays in the Ligue 1
Tosin Aiyegun plays for Lorient in the French Ligue 1. He joined the club in the 2023/2024 season from FC Zurich in the Swiss Super League. Aiyegun is in decent from with four goals in eight matches for Lorient this season.
3. Versatile forward
The 27-year-old is quite versatile as he can operates on either sides of attack and also as a center forward. He predominant play as one of the two number 10s in coach Olivier Pantaloni’s 3-4-2-1 set up.
Tosin Aiyegun will look to continue his form against the Super Eagles as the Cheetars look to make history by qualifying for the world cup for the first time.
Gernot Rohr’s men need a win to qualify without depending on the result from the South Africa v Rwanda game. A draw against Nigeria and a loss or draw for South Africa against Rwanda will also see the Cheetars qualify for the World Cup next summer.
