2025 AFCON: Nigeria confronts Rwanda in dead-rubber clash

There is pride to play for as Nigeria’s Super Eagles file out against the Amavubi of Rwanda in today’s dead-rubber clash at Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, writes David Meshioye.

Nothing else interests Amavubi of Rwanda’s German gaffer, Torsten Frank Spittler, other than nipping down the streets of Kigali for his early morning roadwork and returning home to do some clean-up. To him, cleanliness is next to godliness, but every last Saturday of the month is a no-no for him; he is held back in the comfort of his home to clean up trash around the house in a country regarded as the “Singapore of Africa.”

“On the last Saturday of each month, they have a kind of ‘clean-up day,’” begins Spittler. “There’s hardly any traffic on the road on those days because people are encouraged to stay home and tidy and clean up their neighbourhood,” he told FIFA.COM.

Of course, the German gaffer will surely have loads of trash to clean up later today when Amavubi file out against the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the AFCON 2025 dead-rubber encounter at Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, if he truly wants Rwanda on the flight to Morocco next year.

Nigeria booked their place in the competition before their 1-1 encounter against the Hawks of Benin on Thursday, but coach Austin Eguavoen has stated in clear terms that he and his boys are not prepared to let down their guard against the Amavubi side that needs an outright win to stand a chance of qualifying for the 2025 AFCON if Benin Republic drop valuable points against Libya.

The three-time AFCON winners won Group D with an unassailable 11 points from five matches. Benin remains second with seven points, Rwanda third with five points, while Libya are bottom of the standings, having recorded four points.

It is up to coach Spittler to dig deeper into his technical book of tricks and come out with a formation that will see his team punch above their weight and pick the three valuable points against the West African football heavyweight. The German has continued to tell his players time and again that his sole duty is to prepare the team for matches, but it is their responsibility to put the ball in the net.

“We played well and created plenty of chances, but I can’t score goals myself,” claimed the German coach. “My job is to prepare the players, but on the field, they have to put the ball in the net,” he told New Times Rwanda after Amavubi’s last-gasp loss to Libya in Kigali.

His team could not believe their luck in the first leg in Kigali after Ademola Lookman’s goal was ruled offside by the centre referee as both countries settled for a goalless draw.

A draw won’t be enough to save Rwanda in Uyo, and they may have to take calculated risks in a match that will see four Super Eagles players missing in action.

Today’s encounter will be the seventh meeting between Nigeria and Rwanda, and the Super Eagles have never lost any of the fixtures, winning twice and drawing four times, including the first-leg goalless draw earlier in the AFCON 2025 qualifying campaign.

While coach Austin Eguavoen may have secured his place as the man who will bark orders to Super Eagles players from the dugout in Morocco, the same cannot be said of the highly itinerant Spittler, who has continued to say loud and clear why he cannot coach in North Korea for millions of dollars if he is eventually shown the door by Rwanda football authorities.

A win in Uyo could see Rwanda qualify for its second AFCON and, most importantly, be one valuable reason why his contract should be extended beyond 2024. Of course, that will keep him in Kigali, where he takes delight in observing monthly cleaning exercises aside from calling the shots from the dugout.

TEAM NEWS (NIGERIA)
Lazio star Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina have been ruled out of the game due to injury. First-choice goalkeeper Stanley Nwabili has been excused from Monday’s final qualifying match for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations against the Amavubi of Rwanda in Uyo due to the bereavement of his father. Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye will most likely stand between the sticks in Nwabili’s absence as coach Eguavoen looks to tweak his team selection.

TEAM NEWS (RWANDA)
Coach Spittler will once again be throwing his weight behind the defensive duo of Omborenga Fitina and Emmanuel Imanishimwe to keep the armed-to-the-teeth Super Eagles strikers at bay. The duo let down their guard, allowing Libya to snatch an 84th-minute winner on Thursday. There are no injury worries, and Amavubi will be playing to their strengths against the Super Eagles this evening