Stand-in Nigeria coach Daniel Amokachi was generous with his words praise for goalscorer Ahmed Musa, as well as his squad of young and inexperienced players as the Super Eagles drew 1-1 with South Africa in Mbombela on Sunday afternoon.

The Nigerian ended the encounter in disappointment, as they seemed close to victory before a late equaliser put Bafana Bafana on level terms with the visitors.

South Africa missed an opportunity to take the lead in the second half, when Thulani Serero earned the hosts a penalty, but a poorly dispatched kick was saved by keeper Daniel Akpeyi.

The match reserved the drama for the final minutes, as a superb strike from Ahmed Musa in the 85th minute put the Super Eagles in front, while an extra time goal from Bongani Zungu ended the game in a stalemate.

Amokachi was pleased to see the opening goal from Musa, and he called the 22-year-old CSKA Moscow player a world class talent.

“[Musa] is a good player, we all know what an experienced player he is and what a world class player he is, and you could see the difference in the goal he scored,” Amokachi said to the media, according to KickOff.

“It’s also reminiscent of the goal he scored against Argentina at the World Cup. He’s brilliant at getting the ball and turning at the edge of the 18-yard area, and swinging it into the corner,” he added.

Amokachi has been very vocal about the need to bring in fresh blood for the Super Eagles in pursuit of glory, and he had kind words for the inexperienced players who were part of the draw against Bafana.

“We had about 90 per cent of our players who are collecting their first, second or third cap,” he explained. “The most important thing was for us to see whether they were built well enough, and experienced enough to take our football to the next level.”

The Super Eagles return home with a poor week of results which saw the Bafana draw added to a home loss against Uganda in Uyo.