Victor Osimhen today revived the Super Eagles 2026 World Cup qualification hopes after his brace gave them their first win in the series and also their first-ever win in Rwanda.
Nigeria now have six points from five matches to climb to fourth in Group C.
They will be expected to beat bottom team Zimbabwe in Uyo Tuesday to move farther up the standings after a rather laboured start to the qualifiers.
South Africa now top the group with 10 points, Benin are second on eight points, while Rwanda dropped to third with seven points.
Galatasaray striker Osimhen opened scoring after 10 minutes, when he slotted home a free kick by Ademola Lookman after just 10 minutes.
He made the game safe in first half additional time when he broke free of the Rwanda defence before he dinked the ball over the Rwanda goalkeeper.
He has now scored 25 goals for Nigeria, only 12 goals behind the country’s all-time top scorer, the legendary Rashidi Yekini.
In the scond half, the home team egged on by a packed Amahoro Stadium with President Paul Kegame in attendance chased the game, but the Super Eagles did well to manage the encounter for their first clean sheet of the qualifiers.
Super Eagles Starting XI vs Rwanda (4-4-2):
Nwabali – Ola Aina (Onyemaechi 67), Osayi-Samuel (Alhassan Yusuf 77), Ekong (Captain), Bassey – Ndidi, Iwobi, Chukwueze (Onyedika 67), Moses Simon – Ademola Lookman, Osimhen (Arokodare 77)
