Rwanda’s delegation to Saturday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Nigeria will arrive in Lagos on Tuesday afternoon.
According to Nigeria Football Federation’s Director of Communication, Dr Ademola Olajire, a one-man Rwanda advance party will be in Lagos today but the full delegation will make landfall in the commercial capital on Tuesday aboard a Rwandair Airline flight at 1.15pm, and will proceed to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State by 4pm of the same day.
Meanwhile, injured Super Eagles goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, has assured top officials of both the NFF and the National Sports Commission (NSC) that he will be fully fit for Saturday’s 2026 World Cup showdown against Rwanda in Uyo.
Last week, Super Eagles No 1 goalkeeper Nwabali was stretchered off after he was injured while playing for his South African club Chippa United.
“He (Nwabali) has assured us he will be fit for the World Cup qualifiers against both Rwanda and South Africa,” a source told SCORENigeria yesterday.
“He spoke to NFF President (Ibrahim Gusau) and some other top officials in this regard,” the top football source said yesterday.
The Match-day 7 encounter with Rwanda has become very crucial to both teams as they are both wide away from group leaders South Africa, who have 13 points (prior to FIFA’s decision on their use of an ineligible player in the win over Lesotho in March this year). Rwanda are second in the pool with eight points, same as Benin Republic, with Nigeria in fourth on seven points.
Lesotho have 6 points, with Zimbabwe propping up the table on four points.
While the world still awaits FIFA’s decision, Nigeria and Rwanda will go for each other’s jugular in order to be appropriately-placed to benefit from Bafana Bafana’s error. The Lesotho’s Crocodiles will leap to nine points if South Africa are penalised for their infraction.
Saturday’s showdown at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium comes five months and two weeks after the Super Eagles defeated the Amavubi 2-0 in the latter’s homeground in Kigali in a Matchday 5 encounter.
It also comes nine months and two weeks after an inspired Amavubi came from behind to defeat the Super Eagles 2-1 in a 2025 AFCON final-day qualification match at the same Godswill Akpabio Stadium.
Unfortunately for the Amavubi, the win did not earn them qualification, as Benin Republic took the second ticket from the group behind Nigeria, after drawing with Libya in Tripoli.
While the Amavubi have a date with bottom-placed Zimbabwe on Matchday 8, the Super Eagles will fly to Bloemfontein to confront group leaders South Africa.
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