Berti off to winning start

Nigeria laboured through the encounter against their underrated opponents before the Portsmouth striker scored from close range with 17 minutes left after Uganda failed to clear a corner taken by Chelsea's John Obi Mikel.

Uganda had a strike from a goalmouth scramble disallowed in the final minutes, prompting angry protestations from their players toward Senegal referee Badara Diatta.

Vogts, previously manager of Scotland and Germany, said Nigeria had played poorly in the first half and overall their performance had been "not very good".

The win kept up Nigeria's 100 percent record in Group Three and put them on the cusp of qualifying for next year's finals in Ghana.