Nigeria’s Super Eagles defeated Rwanda 2-0 today at the Amahoro stadium in Kigali, resuming their Group C 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign thanks to a brace from Victor Osimhen.
After losing one and drawing three of their previous four games, it was the Super Eagles’ first victory of the qualification campaign.
After missing the previous games because of injuries, Osimhen made his first appearance in the qualifiers.
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The Super Eagles are now four points behind the new leaders, South Africa, who defeated Lesotho 2-0, and in fourth place with six points.
Rwanda is in third place with seven points, while Benin Republic, who drew 2-2 with Zimbabwe on Thursday, is in second place with eight points.
The Super Eagles’ next match is against Zimbabwe at home on Tuesday, March 25 in Uyo.
Osimhen opened the scoring on minute eleven by hammering home Ademola Lookman’s set piece, but the Super Eagles, who had drawn all three of their prior trips to Rwanda, made their early pressure pay off.
A Rwandan player nearly scored an own goal in the 12th minute when he attempted to clear Osimhen’s cross but failed.
On the sixteenth minute, William Troost-Ekong nearly put the score at two, but his header from Lookman’s set piece narrowly missed the post.
Moses Simon came very close to scoring in the 25th minute, but Rwandan goalie Fiacre Ntwari pushed his curler over the bar.
Stanley Nwabali came out to punch away to safety as Rwanda won a corner with one minute remaining in the first half.
Following a header by Samuel Chukwueze, Osimhen made it 2-0 in the last minute of the first half by pricking the ball from the feet of a Rwandan defender, racing to goal, and dinking the ball over the goalie.
On minute 49, Rwanda came very close, but Nwabali headed the ball in the direction of the goal.
Bright Osayi-Samuel drove inside the box in the 51st minute but the goalie got down brilliantly to send Palmer away for a corner kick.
The Super Eagles substituted Bruno Onyemaechi and Raphael Onyedika for Chukwueze and Ola Aina in the 67th minute.
In the 75th minute, Rwanda broke on the right, but Calvin Bassey cleared the ball quickly.
Eric Chelle brought in Yusuf who took Osayi-Samuel’s place, and Arokodare made his debut in place of Osimhen in 77th minute
Rwanda believed they had pulled one back in the 89th minute, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
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