The Super Eagles were on the verge of winning for the second time in a row after Victor Osimhen’s diving header, but in the 90th minute, Tawanda Chirewa, a forward on loan from Huddersfield, shocked the home crowd in Uyo by edging past Stanley Nwabali.
Nigeria is now six points behind leaders South Africa after six rounds of the 10-match group campaign. South Africa defeated Benin 2-0 on the road thanks to goals from Jayden Adams and Lyle Foster of Burnley.
Nigeria is fourth in the group, one point behind Rwanda and Benin, and was not selected for the 2022 finals in Qatar.
Next year, the 48-team tournament will be expanded to include only the nine group winners.
The four best second-placed sides will play off for a spot at an intercontinental tournament which will decide the final spots in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Pressure had been on Nigeria and their new coach, Eric Chelle, to earn as many points as possible from their two games this month after they lost their first four games in Group C.
With a deliberate start against Zimbabwe, Nigeria forced visiting goalkeeper Washington Arubi to make six saves in the first ten minutes.
In Friday’s 2-0 victory over Rwanda, Osimhen scored both goals. However, his header from the ensuing corner was brilliantly clawed away, and a volley from an acute angle was tipped behind.
During loan stints with Championship teams Derby and Huddersfield this season, Tawanda Chirewa has failed to score a goal for the team, but he has seriously damaged Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
It appeared as though Osimhen had given the Super Eagles another crucial three points when he converted Ola Aina’s cross in the 74th minute, following close attempts by Alex Iwobi and substitute Tolu Arokodare.
When Knowledge Musona stabbed against the crossbar after Nwabali failed to claim a cross from the left, Zimbabwe nearly leveled the score immediately.
Furthermore, Nigeria now needs more outcomes to push themselves back into contention after the Warriors silenced the Uyo crowd with a calm finish under Nwabali at the end.