In a spirited international friendly held on Tuesday night at the Mardan Sports Complex in Antalya, Turkey, World Cup-bound Jordan fought back to secure a 2-2 draw against Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
The match, which served as the conclusion to Nigeria’s March international window, saw the 64th-ranked Jordan side stun the Nigerians early.
In the 17th minute, Mousa Tamari capitalized on a sophisticated free-kick routine to put the hosts ahead.
Nigeria thought they had responded just six minutes later through Raphael Onyedika, but the goal was controversially disallowed by the officials.
The equalizer eventually arrived in the 30th minute when Moses Simon, captaining the side on his 97th appearance, reacted quickest to a blocked Ademola Lookman effort to clinicaly slot home his second goal of the month.
Nigeria completed the first-half comeback shortly before the break as Glasgow Rangers forward Emmanuel Fernandez marked his full international debut in style.
He showed excellent composure to control a pinpoint cross from Bright Osayi-Samuel before firing a left-footed strike into the net, sending the Super Eagles into halftime with a 2-1 lead.
The intensity increased during a physical second half, leading to significant personnel changes for Nigeria.
Goalkeeper Francis Uzoho was forced off for Adebayo Adeleye in the 57th minute following a clearance mishap, while coach Eric Chelle introduced veteran midfielders Wilfred Ndidi and Alex Iwobi to stabilize the center of the pitch.
Despite these adjustments and the senior debut of Philip Otele, Jordan’s persistence paid off in the 77th minute when they found the equalizing goal.
The match reached a tense conclusion as Nigeria struggled to find a winner, a task made harder when Alex Iwobi was shown a straight red card in the final moments of the game.
