Nigeria fell to a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Rwanda in their final game of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign at the Gidswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, Soccernet.ng reports.
Samuel Chukwueze opened the scoring for the Super Eagles but Rwanda grabbed two goals in three minutes to claim their first-ever win over the three-time AFCON winners.
How it happened
First half
It was a dead-rubber game for Nigeria as the Super Eagles had already qualified for the AFCON.
Subsequently, coach Augustine Eguavoen made seven changes to the Super Eagles lineup that drew 1-1 with Benin Republic in Abidjan on Thursday with several key players dropping to the bench.
Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Ola Aina, and Wilfred Ndidi were among the players who made way for the likes of Victor Boniface, Moses Simon, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Raphael Onyedikachi.
And what followed was an opening period that saw the Super Eagles struggle to impose their dominance over the visitors.
While Alhassan Yusuf looked lively in the early stages, Nigeria's best chance of the half fell to Kelechi Iheanacho but Rwanda's goalkeeper made a fine stop to deny the Sevilla forward.
The home team was left frustrated as the referee brought the half to an end.
Second half
Coach Eguavoen was clearly not impressed with the Eagles' display in the first 45 minutes and in response Samuel Chukwueze was sent on in place of Iheanacho at the start of the second period.
Two minutes in and Nigeria came close to taking the lead but Boniface's header from a Simon corner was smartly saved by the Rwandan goalie.
The Super Eagles finally broke the deadlock in excellent fashion around the hour mark courtesy of a brilliant individual effort from super sub Chukwueze.
The AC Milan winger went on a fine mazy run, dribbling past three defenders before slamming the ball into the net.
It was Chukwueze's sixth goal for Nigeria and his first since a 6-0 win over Sao Tome and Principe in October 2023.
However, Nigeria's lead lasted only 12 minutes as Rwanda equalised with an emphatic Mutsinzi header as the Super Eagles' defence went to sleep.
The team was still snoring three minutes later when the Amavubis completed their stunning comeback. A swift counter left the Super Eagles open and Nshuti applied the finishing touch to an excellent cross from the left flank.
The introduction of Victor Osimhen and Umar Sadiq failed to inspire any positive reaction for the Super Eagles as the former African champions ended the qualifying campaign on a sour note.
What next?
Despite Rwanda's win, the Wasps failed to qualify for Morocco 2025 as Benin Republic joined Nigeria on the party to the AFCON following their goalless draw in Libya.
Nigeria and Rwanda will square up again in Kigali in March next year in the World Cup qualifying series.
If not for the 3 point gift from the abandoned Libya match, Nigeria would not qualify from the group. There is nothing to cheer from this team.. Individually, players such as Osimhen, Ndidi and Lookman show patriotic commitment to the team. However, there is question mark on some of the players on whether they deserve to wear that green shirt. Being invited to the national team is a thing of joy and pride, and comes with commitment and determination to serve. It seems to me some Super Eagles players believe they do Nigerians favour to play for the team, and if that is the case, they don’t deserve to be invited. I am ashamed that despite the talents available home and abroad, Nigeria is yer to assemble 24 patriotic players in the likes of Kanu, Okocha, Amunike, Amokachi, Finidi and others to make us happy.
I agree with you. Look at the Rwandese and Beninese players, most of them play for lowest clubs in obscure leagues but see their performance in the national team. They play with pride, zeal and determination. In contrast, most Super Eagles players play for big clubs in some of the best leagues. We watch them every week playing brilliantly for their clubs but when it comes to the national team, they falter. The zeal, determination and patrotism to excel for the country is not there. .
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