Five Super Eagles players arrive camp after Labour suspends strike

Five Super Eagles players have arrived in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin Republic.

This was disclosed by Super Eagles Media Officer, Promise Efoghe, on Tuesday.

According to the team’s spokesperson, Semi Ajayi, Calvin Bassey, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Frank Onyeka and Paul Onuachu have arrived at camp.

He said the players had all arrived in Nigeria but were unable to connect a flight to Uyo due to the announcement of the Labour strike on Monday. On Tuesday, the strike was suspended by Labour.

Following the arrival of the five players, the number of players currently in camp is now 20. The three players still being expected are Maduka Okoye, Ademola Lookman and Alex Iwobi.

After two games in Group C, of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the Eagles have two points after 1-1 draws against Lesotho and Zimbabwe.

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Friday’s opponents, South Africa, are second on three points with one win and a loss while the Benin Republic are bottom in the six-team table with just one point.

Rwanda, on four points, top the group while Lesotho and Zimbabwe each have two points and occupy fourth and fifth position respectively.

Meanwhile, the Eagles will be looking for a first home win against South Africa since a 2-0 win inside the MKO Abiola stadium in Abuja in 2008.

In their last two trips to Nigeria, Bafana Bafana have recorded a draw (2-2) and a win (0-2) in 2014 and 2017 respectively, against the Eagles both at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, the venue of Friday’s qualifiers.

At the AFCON 2023 semi-finals, the Eagles overcame South Africa 4–2 on penalties after 120 minutes of football ended 1-1. It was the Nigerian team’s fourth win in four AFCON meetings against the South Africans.