On a cool Friday evening in Kigali, Tosin Aiyegun a Lagos-born ahead turned the heartbeat of a whole nation.
Tosin Aiyegun, the boy who shappen his soccer abilities with Actual Sapphire FC of Lagos, who now wears Benin Republic’s colours, scored the aim that would rewrite historical past for the Squirrels — and ship them to their first-ever FIFA World Cup.
It was the eightieth minute on the Amahoro Stadium when Aiyegun’s medical strike broke the impasse towards Rwanda.
The aim didn’t simply seal three factors; it saved Benin Republic firmly on prime of a fiercely contested group that features African giants Nigeria and South Africa.
With talisman Junior Olaitan unavailable, one other Nigerian-born star stepped up — and made it depend.
For Benin Republic, the equation is easy: yet one more win, and so they’ll make historical past.
Their remaining cease? Uyo, Nigeria — the land the place Tosin Aiyegun’s story started. A win towards his start nation could be poetic; a loss, devastating.
Both means, all eyes can be on the 27-year-old ahead who may simply be sending the tiny West African nation to America in 2026.
Born in Lagos on June 26, 1998, Aiyegun’s soccer journey started at Actual Sapphire Academy earlier than he ventured overseas to make a reputation for himself.
From Latvia’s Ventspils, the place he netted 33 objectives, to FC Zürich in Switzerland, and now at France’s Lorient, Tosin’s rise has been regular and hard-earned.
Since making his debut for Benin in 2022, he’s scored essential objectives — however none as necessary as Friday’s winner in Kigali.
For a nation dreaming huge, Tosin Aiyegun has turn out to be greater than only a footballer; he’s an emblem of risk.
Come Tuesday in Uyo, the boy from Lagos may full the journey of a lifetime — from the streets of Nigeria to the world’s greatest soccer stage, carrying Benin Republic with him.
