Eagles Say No Mercy for Rwanda Even with AFCON 2025 Ticket in the Bag

Duro  Ikhazuagbe

Super Eagles Head Coach, Augustine Eguavoen, insisted yesterday that Nigeria will not have mercy on Rwanda today in the final game of the AFCON 2025 qualifiers despite the three-time African champions already having the qualification ticket in the bag.

Already qualified Super Eagles are leading Group D on 11 points with Benin Republic on seven points ahead of Rwanda  who have five points. Bottom of the table Libya are on four points. The second placed ticket is open to all the three teams depending on the results of the last two matches involving Eagles  and the Amavubi in Uyo and Libya and Benin Republic in Tripoli this evening.

Eguavoen stressed that Eagles are determined to sustain their recent form and spirit ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers that resume in four months.

He believes that the absence of grieving goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali, defender Olaoluwa Aina and in-form forward Ademola Lookman will not stop Nigeria’s momentum.

The Super Eagles are not unaware of the fact that the Amavubi are in the same 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying group with them, and that they (Rwanda) are the next opponents when the World Cup qualifying campaign resumes in March 2025.

Monday’s encounter will see the return of former number one safe hands Maduka Okoye, and Bright Osayi-Samuel could start at right wing-back in the absence of Aina, with Bruno Onyemaechi at left wing-back, and Captain William Ekong and Calvin Bassey at centre-back.

Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Frank Onyeka, Alhassan Yusuf Abdullahi, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Raphael Onyedika are still the options in the middle.

Victor Osimhen, whose goal on Thursday earned the one point in Abidjan that took Nigeria to the top of the pool, will hope to score against the Amavubi, having come quite close a number of times when he joined the fray as a second-half substitute in Kigali in September. 

He also has the target of overtaking former captain Olusegun Odegbami on the goals’ tally for Nigeria.

The absence of Lookman means so much will be expected from fit-fighting and usually-dependable Moses Simon, with Samuel Chukwueze, Sadiq Umar, Kelechi Iheanacho and Victor Boniface all in the race for slots in the fore.