Rwanda expose fumbling Eagles as Benin qualify for Morocco 2025 AFCON

Rwanda, yesterday, in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, exposed the technical deficiency in the Super Eagles, beating the 2013 African champions 2-1 in their last Group D qualifier for the Morocco 2025 edition of the championship.

Nigeria went into yesterday’s game with the ticket to Morocco 2025 already wrapped up, but the Super Eagles needed to show that they have overcome the lethargy that has seen them hugging the second to the last spot in their 2026 World Cup qualifying group.

Incidentally, Nigeria will meet Rwanda in one of their must-win games to qualify for the World Cup billed to hold in North America in 2026. And so, Super Eagles’ supporters went to Uyo hoping to see a well-oiled side ready to dismantle every opposition on their way to the U.S., Canada and Mexico. But the fans left the stadium utterly disappointed.

Interim Manager, Austin Eguavoen, who incidentally supervised Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup hosted by Qatar, opted to give the fringe players in his squad a chance against Rwanda. But that experiment ended in failure as some of the players were given strange positions in the starting team.

Although Nigeria dominated the first half as Rwanda opted for a cautious approach, the Super Eagles failed to make hay with the numerous chances that fell to them.

The Super Eagles, however, got the opening goal of the game in the 59th minute through Samuel Chukwueze, who meandered through a sea of heads in the Rwandan defence to make hay.

But rather than build on the lead, the Eagles went into their shell, playing a strange negative game against the Wasps. And sensing that Nigeria had nothing more to offer, Rwanda picked up the gauntlet, running rings around the hapless Nigerian defence, led by Captain William Troost-Ekong.

The Wasps got their equaliser in the 77th minute through an Ange Mutsinzi direct free kick that left goalkeeper Maduka Okoye stranded. Buoyed by that goal, Rwanda went for the killer, which they got three minutes later through Innocent Nshuti.

Sensing imminent defeat, Eguavoen introduced Victor Osimhen, and Umar Sadiq, but the strikers failed to muster the strike needed to rescue the situation.

Rwanda kept their lead until the final whistle. But sadly for the Wasps, their exertions were not enough to take them to Morocco as Libya and Benin Republic played out a goalless draw in the other Group D game played simultaneously with the Nigeria versus Rwanda game.

Nigeria won the group with 11 points, while Benin Republic and Rwanda ended on eight points apiece, but the Cheetahs took the ticket as they have a superior goals difference to Rwanda. Nigeria and Rwanda will square up again in Kigali, in March next year in continuation of the 2026 World Cup qualifying series.