Nigeria Super Eagles Benjamin Frederick with Gabonese star, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang on the turf
Kingsley Abavo (Managing Editor) Benin
The dream of the Nigeria Super Eagles, national male senior football team may have been halted with their sad defeat by the DR Congo team in the world cup play-off held in Rabat, Morocco last Sunday, 16 November, 2025, but the memories lingers.
The Super Eagles in the high intensity game, managed to survive the continued onslaught of the DR Congo team with the match ending one goal apiece, and after an extra time of 30 minutes, they succumbed 4-3 in a penalty shootout, against the prediction of pundits.
But interestingly, the very outstanding performance of the Kaduna born Benjamin Frederick, a rookie in the pack; against Gabon and DR Congo in the world cup play-off shone like a cluster of stars in the sky.
Though Nigerians and Super Eagles fans across the globe were heartbroken with the unenvisaged outcome, they have acknowledged the impactful quality of the Dender FC of Belgium loanee and have continued to pour encomium on him.
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Here, we compile some of the sweet and heart warming commentaries for what it is, in the display of excellence.
Julie Sports in his assessment on Facebook wrote:
He has the calm and composure of Arsenal’s William Saliba… what a talent and we are blessed to have him in our team.
He is truly a remarkable talent, calm, composed, and unbelievably mature for his age.
He barely says a word, yet every minute he spends on the pitch speaks volumes about his quality.
His tackles are perfectly timed, his ball distribution is clean and intelligent, and his reading of the game is far beyond what you’d expect from someone so early in his career.
What makes it even more impressive is that he’s delivering these top-class performances without even having 20 professional matches under his belt.
That level of confidence, consistency, and football IQ at such a young stage is something you rarely see.
Right now, there’s no young defender out there matching his level, he’s simply built differently.
The talent is natural, the mentality is elite, and the future looks incredibly bright for him.
While a fellow who goes by the identity; ‘Fear God’ on Facebook simply wrote: “World Class!” talking about the teenagers’overall performances.
Also, Super Eagles’ legend and former captain, Sunday Oliseh who was a gaffer of the team had this to say about Benjamin Fredrick!
“Benjamin Fredrick is one of the most influential players I’ve seen recently. In one of the toughest games, he remained calm, decisive, and impactful throughout.
“His positioning, pace, and composure under pressure stood out. This is a talent every Nigerian football fan should keep an eye on.”
The former Super Eagles coach highlighted Fredrick’s rise, noting that the young defender is making waves at Dender EH in Belgium and has the potential to be a key figure for Nigeria’s future.
Continuing, Oladipupo Isaac Tunji stated: “When he attacked, you could feel it that he is even better as an attacking midfielder than in defense. Dude was too good!”
In the words of Sayo Aluko: “Benjamin Fredrick, God bless you a lot! He reminds me of the Super Eagles we watched when I grew up. The Super Eagles that made the Super Eagle more than a nickname. He particularly reminds me of Uche Okechukwu, not by size, but by size of heart and devotion. Man ran the entire pitch to assist the goal that brought relief to all Nigerians watching from everywhere. He was as dependable at the back as he was with contributions to attacking play today. A class act at just 20. God bless him a lot!
“That Fredrick Benjamin boy is just too good. Aubameyang and co couldn’t find a way to penetrate,” another commentator noted.
Fredrick on dominating Aubameyang in Super Eagles win over Gabon – Harder than I expected
• His movements were crazy!
Benjamin in an interview with journalists says it was difficult keeping Pierre Emerick Aubameyang in check during Nigeria’s 4-1 win over Gabon in the world cup qualifiers playoff, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Fredrick kept the celebrated Gabonese forward quiet for the entire duration of the game. His fifth competitive game in the colours of Nigeria and he capped it with an assist for the fourth goal scored by Victor Osimhen.
Reflecting on the game, the 20 year old property of the English Premier League side; Brentford said stopping the legendary forward was harder than he expected.
”Playing against Aubameyang was a huge lesson for me. It wasn’t easy like how you said it. His movements were crazy and it kept me running all the time.
“He can come from the left, right, central and also drop deep. It’s not easy keeping up with him”, Fredrick told OwnGoalNigeria.com in an exclusive conversation.
” I want to thank my teammates as well because it was not just me but everybody in the team. Even the ones who were on the bench also deserve praise because they could do as well if not better but we all can’t play at the same time.”
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