{"id":123077,"date":"2025-10-21T20:35:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T19:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=123077"},"modified":"2025-10-21T20:35:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T19:35:35","slug":"wc-qualifiers-south-african-stars-praise-osimhen-after-benin-hat-trick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/wc-qualifiers-south-african-stars-praise-osimhen-after-benin-hat-trick\/","title":{"rendered":"WC Qualifiers: South African Stars Praise Osimhen After Benin Hat-Trick"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">South African footballers have heaped praise on Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen following his brilliant hat-trick in Nigeria\u2019s emphatic 4\u20130 victory over Benin Republic in the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Osimhen\u2019s outstanding display did not only propel Nigeria closer to the World Cup ticket but also had an indirect impact on South Africa\u2019s qualification chances, prompting warm reactions from Bafana Bafana players and fans.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Midfielder Teboho Mokoena took to his Instagram page to post a picture of Osimhen with the caption, \u201cMy GOAT,\u201d an acronym for \u201cGreatest Of All Time.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The post, which quickly went viral, drew attention from football lovers across the continent.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another South African international, Khuliso Johnson Mudau, also joined in the praise, describing Osimhen as \u201cWhat a player,\u201d while South African fans flooded social media platforms to commend the Nigerian forward for his heroics.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite the long-standing football rivalry between the two nations, many South Africans expressed gratitude toward Osimhen, whose hat-trick against Benin strengthened their team\u2019s qualification standing in the group.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Osimhen\u2019s performance has once again reaffirmed his reputation as one of Africa\u2019s most lethal forwards, with both Nigerian and South African supporters acknowledging his influence on the continent\u2019s football scene.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Oscar Okhifo South African footballers have heaped praise on Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen following his brilliant hat-trick in Nigeria\u2019s emphatic 4\u20130 victory over Benin Republic in the ongoing&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":123080,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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