Sevilla of Spain duo, Kelechi Iheanacho and Chidera Ejuke, were the last set of players to arrive in the Super Eagles’ camp yesterday, as the senior national team trained with the full complement of the 23 invited players for tomorrow’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Libya.

Interim Coach, Augustine Eguavoen, had 20 players in the first training session on Tuesday evening, while the remaining players breezed in a few hours later.
As of yesterday morning, all invited players had settled down in their hotel for the match, which will be played at 5.00 p.m. tomorrow, at the Akwa Ibom International Stadium, in Uyo. The team trained behind closed doors, yesterday evening.

Nigeria boasts an impressive head-to-head record against Libya, having won four and lost only one of their five meetings. And in the race for the 2025 AFCON ticket, the Super Eagles are on top of Group D with four points from two matches, while Libya are bottom of the standings with just one point. The poor standing of the Mediterranean Knights on the table notwithstanding, Eguavoen, yesterday, said that he expects the North Africans to give Nigeria a tough fight.
 
“That they are down right now doesn’t mean they cannot rise,” he said. “They will come to fight. It will be tough, but the boys are ready and with the spirit in camp, they will deliver.” It would be recalled that the Super Eagles trounced the Mediterranean Knights of Libya 4-0 on their last visit to Nigeria in October 2018, before they also edged past them 3-2 in the reverse tie in Libya.

Eguavoen admitted that even though injured Victor Osimhen would be missed in the game, he still expects the Eagles to beat Libyans convincingly.
Osimhen was ruled out of the double-header after he suffered a muscle injury in action for Turkish club Galatasaray.
 
“He is a huge miss because he is an important and impactful player,” Eguavoen said. “But football is a team sport and we have the players who can step into his shoes.”

After tomorrow’s match in Uyo, the Super Eagles and Libya will clash again on Tuesday night in Libya. Eguavoen said that his objective is to win the maximum six points from this month’s double-header.
 
“We have to be practical about it: our best and surest route to the finals will be to pick up the six points in the matches with Libya, and be somewhat guaranteed a place in Morocco even before Match Day 5. We don’t want to be in any anxiety in the run-in in this qualifying campaign.

The Eagles will go to 10 points with a double win over Libya, while both teams on Nigeria’s heels are in attrition and are bound to chop at each other’s advantage one way or the other.

Wins for Benin Republic in both matches will take them to nine points, still short of Nigeria’s probable tally of 10, but Rwanda will remain stuck at two and Libya one, with only two matches left in the campaign. Wins for Rwanda will leave Benin Republic stuck at three points and Rwanda at eight.