Legendary Nigerian Forward Victor Ikpeba has praised the Super Eagles for their smart approach in the 1-0 win against Rwanda on Saturday.
The Super Eagles kept their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers alive thanks to the hard-fought win against Rwanda, in the Group C, matchday 7 encounter in Uyo.
Substitute, Tolu Arokodare was the hero for Eric Chelle’s men as he bundled the ball home to help the Super Eagles secure a first home win in the qualifiers.
Also Read: 2026 WCQ: How Brilliant Super Eagles Players Rated In Hard-fought Win Vs Rwanda
Unlike in the game against Zimbabwe where the Eagles conceded in stoppage time, this time they were able to see our the contest and complete the double over the Amavubis.
“We looked more smarter defensively, we waited for the Rwandans to come at us, not like what we did against Zimbabwe, we came out all attacking in the latter part of the match and we were punished. So, we played smartly today,” Ikpeba said on Super Sports.
The 1997 African Player of the Year and two-time World Cup star (1994, 1998), stated that the Super Eagles have done the hard part by beating Rwanda.
He added: “The game on Tuesday is now going to be a contest against South Africa and that would be the game that whoever wins, and I hope Nigeria can do it because we’ve done the hard part against Rwanda.
“So, if the boys have that same belief we will beat the South Africans and if we beat the South Africans on Tuesday we will qualify for the World Cup.”
The win against Rwanda took the Super Eagles to third place on 10 points and six points behind South Africa.
The South Africans continued their impressive run in the qualifiers thanks to a comfortable 3-0 win against Lesotho.
By James Agberebi
