Nigeria's disappointing 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign continued after losing a 2-1 loss to Benin in Group C on Monday evening.
Kelechi Iheanacho, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Paul Onuachu were relegated to the bench by the Super Eagles, who restored Terem Moffi, Wilfred Ndidi and Samuel Chukwueze from the 1-1 draw with South Africa on Friday.
A laboured period to the start included low momentum in the attacking third and much of the play centred around the middle of the park.
The tide turned in favour of the Super Eagles though around the half-hour mark when Raphael Onyedika drew a yard of space after dummying one challenge and slammed the top corner.
However, it was relatively short-lived as the host pulled level seven minutes before halftime after an ill-timed clearance from Calvin Bassey saw Jodel Dossou nick possession and pounced.
Benin remained in control on the stroke of halftime as veteran forward Steve Mounie met a pin-point ball following a corner-kick and volleyed in emphatically.
The Super Eagles were looking to draw level after the conclusion of halftime, but struggled to get in-behind and force out scoring opportunities as the host held firm all-round.
Coach Finidi George added a double substitution right on the 60th minute and saw Sadiq Ismail come in for Bright Osayi-Samuel before Ibrahim Olawoyin set in for Chukwueze.
The Cheetahs remained tight on all around despite the pressure presented by the Super Eagles, who starred a first defeat in the qualifiers to the World Cup finals.
Nigeria continued to battle away with time running out, as the likes of Ademola Lookman failed to get anything worthwhile up top and witnessed the Cheetahs go on to victory and top spot.
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