Manchester City starlet Kelechi Iheanacho was the match winner for Nigeria against Mali Friday night in a friendly played in Rouen, France.

Iheanacho smashed home the match winner on 77 minutes just moments after he replaced Arsenal youngster Alex Iwobi.

Fellow substitute Michael Babatunde released Iheanacho for the youngster to deliver a cool finish.

It was the attacking substitution by coach Salisu that brought some gloss to an otherwise drab affair.

The caretaker coach brought on Babatunde, Umar Aminu and Brown Ideye in place of Moses Simon, Oghenekaro Etebo and Ighalo, before he added Ikeanacho in the mix.

Both West African teams cancelled themselves out by the halfway mark in Rouen, France.

Nigeria lined up a very young starting XI that include Arsenal youngster Alex Iwobi and debutant Musa Mohammed.

The game started at a slow pace under a nice weather before a scanty crowd.

There was not much to choose between the two teams in a half that offered very little.

Debut boy Musa came close to opening scores for Nigeria with Watford striker Odion Ighalo also threatening the Mali goal.

The Eagles of Mali also came close to getting on the scoreboard towards the end of the first period.

Nigeria will play a second friendly on Tuesday against Luxembourg in Luxembourg City.