Musa & Iheanacho Feature For Nigeria At Wembley

World Cup
02 Jun 2018
2 Minutes
Ahmed Musa and Kelechi Iheanacho starred from the bench as Nigeria were defeated 2-1 by England in an entertaining FIFA World Cup warm-up friendly at Wembley on Saturday.

- Leicester City represented by Kelechi Iheanacho and Ahmed Musa in Nigeria's friendly against England
- The Foxes pair emerged from the bench in the second half during a 2-1 victory for the Three Lions
- Wilfred Ndidi was an unused substitute for Nigeria as he returns from a hamstring injury
- England's Jamie Vardy and Harry Maguire did not feature, but are in the final World Cup squad

The Leicester City duo, joined by Foxes team-mate Wilfred Ndidi on the bench, were introduced to the action in the latter stages amid a carnival atmosphere at Wembley.

Gary Cahill opened the scoring for the Three Lions with a powerful header in the seventh minute before newly-anointed captain and ex-City loanee Harry Kane doubled their lead before the break.

However, Nigeria were re-energised in the second period, pushing England back and causing Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford problems in front of 8,000 travelling fans.

Gernot Rohr's men were rewarded for their dynamism within two minutes of the restart when Arsenal's Alex Iwobi capitalised to convert the rebound after Odion Ighalo's shot came back off the post.

The Nigeria fans contributed to a lively atmosphere at Wembley.

Just after the hour-mark, Musa replaced Chelsea's Victor Moses, making a noticeable impact on the tempo of the game, before Ighalo made way for Iheanacho in the 73rd minute.

Like Musa, Iheanacho's arrival sparked a period of attacking intent from the visitors, but Gareth Southgate's Three Lions, who face Costa Rica at Elland Road on Thursday, held out for the victory.

Jamie Vardy and Harry Maguire, meanwhile, were unused substitutes for England, although both have already been confirmed as part of Southgate's 23-man squad for the World Cup.

City's Jamie Vardy was on the bench for England.

An opener against Tunisia on Monday 18 June awaits England in Russia before they tackle Panama on Sunday 10 June and Belgium on Thursday 18 June in Group G.

If named in Nigeria's final squad, Iheanacho, Musa and Ndidi will hope to represent their country in Group D clashes against Argentina, Croatia and Iceland.

Check back to LCFC.com over the weekend for more from Saturday's action, including potential appearances for Kasper Schmeichel, Adrien Silva and Ricardo Pereira.