Tolu Arokodare had said before Nigeria faced Tanzania that scoring goals was his biggest responsibility as a striker, and the Ajax forward backed up those words by coming off the bench to score twice in the Super Eagles’ 3-1 victory in Uyo, Footynaija.com reports.
The 25-year-old was among the attacking options available to Eric Chelle after Victor Osimhen was ruled out of the November international fixtures following knee surgery.
Arokodare had been enjoying an impressive spell at club level, but he was still looking to make a bigger impact in a Super Eagles shirt, having struggled to reproduce his goalscoring form for Ajax with the national team.
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Before Friday’s encounter, the striker spoke about the expectations that come with playing in attack for Nigeria and why every forward must take responsibility for finding the net.
Arokodare delivers on his words against Tanzania
“As a striker, I need to score goals. That’s my job for the team, and scoring goals wins games,” Arokodare said in an interview before the opening encounter, as revealed by The Sun.
He stressed that the responsibility was not his alone, insisting that every striker in the squad must contribute to Nigeria’s attacking output.
“I think it’s not just for me, for every other striker on the national team. We have to always try to bring our A-game and score as much as possible as we can,” he added.
His comments became even more relevant after Chelle introduced him at half-time, with Nigeria struggling to turn their first-half dominance into a winning advantage.
Alhassan Yusuf had put the hosts ahead in the second minute before Alphonce Msanga equalised for Tanzania in the 32nd minute.
However, Arokodare needed just seven minutes after the restart to restore Nigeria’s lead, turning in Wilfred Ndidi’s delivery before completing his brace in the 60th minute from Moses Usor’s cross.
The striker had also explained before the game that he was prepared to make an impact regardless of his position in the starting lineup.
“It’s very important for me to use whatever opportunity I get, starting or not starting, coming off the bench, to always try to be in positions and score goals,” he said.
He also revealed that he was working on the mental and physical aspects of his game to improve his ability to deliver in front of goal.
Against Tanzania, he got the opportunity he wanted and made it count, scoring his first brace for the Super Eagles to help Nigeria collect three important points in their AFCON 2027 qualifying campaign.
