By Ifeanyi Uwagwu/ Ebi Nieketien
The Super Eagles of Nigeria, yesterday defeated the Amavubi of Rwanda by 2-0, courtesy of a brace by talismanic marksman, Victor Osimhen, to put their 2026 World Cup qualification dreams back on track.
The encounter which was Eagles Coach, Eric Chelle’s first competitive game since his appointment earlier this year, was an uphill task owing to the faltering performances of the Eagles since the qualifying series began, losing one and sharing the spoils in the other three fixtures.
However, the Eagles showed desire from the blast of the whistle, with the lively Osimhen and Lookman looking to make life uncomfortable for their hosts.
The Eagles got their reward in the 11th minute as Osimhen connected with a brilliant Lookman inswinging freekick at the back post to silence the home crowd. They almost doubled their lead in similar fashion five minutes later, as skipper, Troost-Ekong, glanced his header just wide of the post.
Mercurial winger Moses Simon forced a brilliant save from the Rwandan goalkeeper, as they continued to sustain the momentum against an opponent that they have found no joy coming up against in previous encounters.
Osimhen doubled the Eagles’ lead with his second of the game two minutes into the first-half added time, via a clean lob over the on-rushing Rwandan goalie, as the visitors completely dominated the first half.
At the resumption of the interval, the Eagles continued to probe but could not add to their tally. There was, however, a debut for Genk’s forward Tolu Arokodare, who replaced two-goal hero, Victor Osimhen in the 76th minute.
The result means the Eagles now move to fourth place with six points, four points behind South Africa who beat Lesotho 2-0.
The result would serve as a big boost to the team and their new coach and would hope to replicate a similar performance against the bottom-placed team, Zimbabwe, in Uyo on Tuesday.
