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/Completesports.com’s live blogging of the AFCON 2025 Qualifiers Group D matchday 6 game between the Eagles of Nigeria and the Amavubi (the Wasps) of Rwanda at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium Uyo.
Nigeria Vs Rwanda Live Blogging – AFCON 2025 Qualifier: Group D Matchday 6
Nnamdi Ezekute
Nnamdi Ezekute, a sports reporting expert, has risen through the ranks at Complete Communications Limited (CCL) famed for publications like Complete Sports.
Email: nnamdi.ezekute@completesportsnigeria.com
X (Formerly Twitter): @Ezekutive
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85 Comments
Good luck Super Eagles. The match is live on “Koora live”. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!
Please links to watch the game
Sadiq Umar should have started instead of Boniface. By now Umar would have scored 3 goals.
Continue dreaming……………..like he always scores 3 goals in Spain
It is a waste of time watching this crap match. Watching NPFL or school games is even better. Rwanda that you suppose to beat like 5-0 to scare them from world cup qualifiers. They should go and learn from Morocco current team abeg
It is a waste of time watching this crap match. Watching NPFL or school games is even better. Rwanda that you suppose to beat like 5-0 to scare them from world cup qualifiers. They should go and learn from Morocco current team abeg. Iheanacho and Boniface are not players abeg
With Boniface playing 9 for SE, it always feels like a MINUS ONE situation. Toothless attack, except from Simon coming from the wings and Kelechi trying to do something.
Boniface always thinking defenders will give him enough space to twist and turn. And the guy is not bothered.
Osimhen really needs a deputy. None yet.
Terrem Moffi is the next best striker on SE duties but I think injury has ruled him out for a while now. This Boniface is not it at all, can’t handle African defenders.
When someone is patriotic, you will know. You see this BONIMOUTH is good for nothing except splitting nonsense on social media. He’s playing like a woman a man is forcing himself on her, kinda ah no send you football, nah u dey call me up. Likewise Iheanacho playing like a kid that his diaper need to be changed, and someone need to tell Yussuf dat na sense dem dey take play for national, no be gragra. We need Onyeka to boss our midfield and we are good to go. Oh yes I believe we have a gem in Osho very composed than Bassey at the back. Let’s go super eagles.
Ghana are collecting their customary wotowoto from Niger currently lool! Useless banku eaters, they are too heavy from all that banku they’re carrying around teehehehe
Bonihead should NEVER, I REPEAT NEVER! be allowed to play for us again! Any manager who calls him up, should be made to forfeit for that faux pas lol.
Ghana are collecting their customary wotowoto from Niger currently lool! Useless banku eaters, they are too heavy from all that banku they’re carrying around teehehehe
Meanwhile, Bonihead should NEVER, I REPEAT NEVER! be allowed to play for us again! Any manager who calls him up, should be made to forfeit for that faux pas lol.
CHUKWUEZEeeeeee,, ONyeka Game Changers, Instead of Starting Onyeka na Yusuf him won start.. Well Done Chuks
What a goal from Samu…finally makes his mark in today’s game! Get in!!!
HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, Oya Indigenous Coach dem Where Wuna Day, Useless, Indigenous Coach Supports.. Oya @Kel dem Where Wuna Dey ooo
We dey here, se na indigenous coach go enter field of play to show professionals how to pass ball, or score goals. Oga, i will keep repeating it, its high time you start calling out this over-hyped players. wasn’t surprised at Osayi’s display, because he is not a national team material.
Where is the Demented rodent. apparent your boy hasn’t had his head cleared already. Where are your cohorts shouting he brings confidence.
Lmao what are you expecting bro…the DEMENTED RODENT has ran back to his hole…he will soon come out…
Nigeria’s best No. 1!
Loooooooool. Abi o. What happened to he has better reflexes. So who is pretending to be enyeama in goal now. Make that Demented rodent narcissist come and take his brother. Guess he hasn’t healed very well. Some spicy peanut should be good for him
All of you calling for OKoye, can you all see now how little you really know about anything? Is there one of you lot who will volunteer to stick their neck out now and tell us that that soft header or the second toros- a nothing ball! would have beaten Nwabali (the rock)??
Okoye, you need to be ashamed of yourself!
If I EVER hear any of you trolls calling for Okoye again ehn?
I feel sorry for you “Nigerians” SMH
Na that header in between 4 defenders into the left corner of the post you called soft header?
But you all kept quiet when Nwabali allowed a harmless fluke header pass through his brooks into the net
The major problem of SE is getting a tactical coach to mould these players into a menace on the pitch, not all these jeunjeun indigenous coaches
Thank God we’ve qualified for the AFCON. I don’t think we can beat this Rwanda team in March. It will be a miracle for us to qualify for the WorldCup. Chaiiiii
We can defeat Rwanda if Boniface gets good service.
I don’t know why we like to defend the indefensible. So after the rubbish Boniface played today, you can still come and say it is service he needs. What happened to the chances he had today and the ones he had against Benin.
How many more matches do you want Boniface to play before you agree that he can’t deliver for super eagles. I’m just tired of some of us with our emotions and sentiments.
Players like Okoye, Sodiq, Boniface are not super eagles materials. Even Iheanacho and Iwobi need to be faced out of the team. Above all Eguavoen Can’t coach the super eagles. This is a fact.
It’s either we take it or we leave it. But we shall the the end result of wrong decisions taken as regardfs this super eagles!
Says who? Libya has lodged an appeal against CAF decision, if it succeeds, three points are leaving our haul and perhaps a replay may not go our way with this team
I want to work with players I know… inviting bench warmers. We have told the fool Eguaveon to invite players on form but he prefers collecting money from such dead players for callups. Soon by 12midnight he will announce he is going back to his Technical Director role… Eguaveon should be disgraced from any serious football role in Nigeria. I pray we lose… he has been the one frustrating all foreign coach hire… fraudulent idiot.
Hmmmmmm, are this not the players some fans were making excuses for, honestly our glory days has gone. Nothing super about this current bunch. Now they will come out and start saying our first 11 didn’t start
Being a bench warmer for club doesn’t make you a bad player for country. Classical example is Brahim Diaz, who got a hatrick today for Morocco. There is a fundamental and structural problem with the SE. We all ranted and labelled Jose Peseiro as being too negative at the last AFCON, the guy saw this lack of a creative players in the middle of the pack who can be conveyors to link defence with attack, spot and deliver those last-mile passes on the table for the many strikers we got. Until this issue is resolved in current SE team, the performances will continue to be inconsistent and flip-flopping as always.
Place most of the Nigerian players side by side with the Moroccoan players and I do not see any gulf in quality of teams they play for in Europe but that one two three players who are comfortable on the ball and will 90% of the time make judicious use of the ball to create spaces and convert defence into attack remains the missing piece of the puzzle.
Why is Boniface ever invited???
The question I keep asking. Maybe cos he plays in a high-profile club.
Exactly!
Boniface is very good. He is not getting service.
What nonsense are you saying here. What service is he looking for again. Oshimen came in and the tempo of the attack changed. The guy is just slow. Simple. He needs to leave the national team. He is not national team material.
Sadiq Umar must be introduced at once. He is far better than most other Super Eagles strikers.
We just keep going round in circles. Its a shame!
We still have to face these Rwandan team twice and Gernot Rohr once…. Make we forget world cup abeg
Sadiq Umar must be introduced not once but thrice. He is far better than most another Super Chicken strikers.
Well, at least we saw goals today
Segun East is not relations of Segun East, but the North wan his de same tings ok, they har all brodas an sistas.
Please wer his Segun South habeg?
What a disgrace.
Let’s thank Eguavoen for qualifying us for Afcon 2025 and then he can go back to his TD role.
We need a foreign TA urgently.
Boniface can focus on his club. Incredible Eguavoen kept him for almost 90 minutes, completely occupying space and heavy on his feet.
Osayi should decide if he wants to play as a striker or defender. Goals always come from his end when he plays.
Anyway, I’ll console myself that TEAM B played this match for 80 minutes.
Segun South is de sistas of Segun West buh not relateing to Segun West who is sistas wit Segun East, but the North wan his de same tings ok, they har all brodas an sistas.
Please wer his Segun South East habeg?
Eguavoen na tactically clueless agidi coach…. lol What utter rubbish lol
Iheanacho needs to be banned same for Boniface nonsense.
I think Eguaveon the serial failure said it was Amuneke that made him not qualify Nigeria for World Cup? Serial failure of a coach… as if Coaching is by force. This dude Eguaveon has caused Nigeria failure a lot of times in the history of our football. That man should be released from all football related positions in Nigeria because he is a monumnetal fraud…
This is the kind of games you use to send a message to your opponents and put fear in them but you decided to give them confidence for the world cup qualifiers. The most lackadaisical performance I have seen the super eagles play in recent times and against a small opposition at home for that matter. Disgraceful.
It seems Libya’s maltreatment of our team was actually a blessing in disguise. Imagine if we had played that Libya match, our hearts would have been in our mouths during this Rwanda match. Fasting and prayer would have been our lot today.
It appears we’re back to the pre Rohr era where we couldn’t qualify for three out of four AFCONs in a row. May be qualifying with games to spare was a big deal afterall.
Oga oooo!
anyway, segun west must go because arara kumdie is not arand haer but segun east his a good guy hin sista segun south is still on da way dan. we all knew that boniface and umur sadiq har de best. tanks
uguavon his de best, hin an segun west har sistas. tanko
Looks like an accord match for me…
Shame Rwanda didn’t qualify… Something tells me the Nff sold this match in exchange for victories in the WCQs against them…
Okoye wasn’t at fault for both goals… The goal nwabali conceded against Benin is worse Abeg
I guess you were there when the accord was agreed, oh may be Rwanda is not interested in the WC.
You better get it straight, the current SE in exception of Lookman and Osimhen are average at best and with a clueless coach like Eguaveon we are going no where come WC2026.
But osimehn played na? Hasn’t he come from the bench to score before so which is exception of lookman and osimehn the team is average…
and you saw the change in the approach even though it was just few minutes.
Even Okoye will agree that the 2nd goal is his fault. Ball went in between his legs and in to the net and you can confidently say that he is not at fault?? You must be trolling.
5 Things I learnt
==================
1. Osho played so well, he was my man of the match for the SE. He was so composed at the back, never beaten for pace. He should start ahead of Bassey in my opinion.
2. Osimhen does not have replacement! Boniface is not good enough to wear that jersey. That was the most shambolic performance I have seen from any striker in the green and white. What a nauseating and repugnant performance and he should be overlooked for future games but the clueless lot in charge of our football will continue to invite him.
3. Maduka Okoye is not good enough for our N0.2 let alone No.1. If these clowns at NFF are serious about clawing their way back to clinch the world cup ticket then changes need to be done. Those who have been calling for him to start should hide their faces. Some fans are part of the problem we have.
4. Eguavoen should be expunged from the technical setup. It was the worst display I have seen from the SE in a long while. I also think, he secretly eyes the head coach job and would continue to work against any foreign coach that is hired. It is time to move him on. How Boniface lasted for that long is an absolute mystery. Boni has been appalling for the eagles, dreadful to say the least and yet the coach left him there. It has been clear for so long that we need a creative player like a No. 10 in the SE but year in year out our so called technical director has not deemed it fit to search for player who can provide that??? Truly the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. The sad thing about this is that nothing will be done till March and beyond. Anyone expecting a world qualification is in lala land.
5. We missed Lookman. It is clear that our 2 most important players now are Victor Osimhen and Lookman and boy did we miss him
So Osho played so well so the ‘shaky one’ that brought more pressure on Ekong played well and maduka did not?… With a new and experimental defence line playing together for the first time in a real match situation Abegiiii
You forgot to mention how kelechi was chosen ahead of chukwueze, I didn’t even know chukzy was invited, yet the coach started iheanacho ahead of him in both game, yes chukzy have nt been performing but he is still far better than kelechi.
Segun West please ask Segun East were is Olaosebikan?, all of wunu gather hear and let dis ting, wetin cal arara kunbie came out an brought Eguaveon along wit hin pls so dat we can gave Sadiq an Boniface the service to score a lot of goal for de supper chickens. tanks
All of Wuna Getat, Boniface is a good player the coach got it wrong from the Line up, Maybe Boniface should be used different, but to banned a player who is considered the 2nd best Player in Bayer Leverkusen German Champions is almost tantamount to sabbotaging our Efforts especially going into a WC qualifiers, let us get the first things first done, NFF Fire the DAMNED Coach get us a World CLASS Foreign Coach these people read the game better whether we like it or not This Nigerian Pride is Killing Nigeria if we are to be honest. It starts with this Bad Luck Anthem, get rid of that sleepy head President Tinubu who thinks he can brink us back to a War Anthem!!!!,,GET RID Of CLueless GASAU!!!!!! Fire the damned coach change the anthem back to the one we used when we finished 2nd in AFCON NIGERIA LIKES TO SABBOTAGE HERSELF BECAUSE OF SOME CERTAIN ARROGANT FELLOW’s Riddled with Unfounded Pride… GET RID OF EGUAVOEN BRING IN RENARD OR ANOTHER QUALITY COACH FOR GOODNESS SAKE
It seems the 3-0 win over Benin in uyo was a fluke – this is the Eguavoen-led style that we know, which has made lose the job for 3 times and soon-to-be come 4th. The team isnt so bad but needs some reinforcements.
1. Boniface has no business in SE for now. Definitely the worst SE striker since I cannot remember. He needs maybe 2 more years !
2. Eguavoen will always be Eguavoen. Let him return to the TD role.
3. Kelechi – football is leaving him faster than he realizes.
4. We need a new technical adviser. There was a reason We cannot keep rotating failures.
5. The new coach needs a way to make lookman-Simon start a game, none should sit on the bench.
6. We need to look for more players for SE. So many players are just not good enough.
7. Bring back Leon Balogun, this Osho experiment will show us shege.
Glory to God Almighty for this defeat. Am scared that if by luck we won this match already a lot of people including those useless ex internationals have been clamoring for Egu to be permanent. Now it’s obvious that Nigeria has no business in modern day football . If skills have not been delivering Brazil from defeat in recent matches then Nigeria should constantly expect this kind of result. This Eagles are not organized and they lack direction. ASAP we need a coach that can make us play as a unit
@Respect is reciprocal you will be surprise that come WCQ, Egu will still be there. Look, there is no football federation that like to press self destruct button like our own NFF. It like a curse. They know how to self destruct and later ask Nigerians for forgiveness.
I have learnt not to get emotionally attached with SE since the 90’s. Just watch.
Everybody thinks he is Ronaldo or Messi in that team, no tactics no training pitch Routine, everybody wants to dribble and beat players, No discipline in that team in CAMP Every Content Creator from Aba to Ajegunle is allowed in Camp what is going on in Nigeria why is there no discipline in that country for Christ sake this is SAD!!!!
This really needs to be addressed……Diff types of youtubers just having access easily. No discipline.
Especially that Victor Modo and the others asking useless questions and distracting the team. He must have a relative among NFF big wigs. Useless questions like who’s the funniest etc.
The good thing is a foreign coach won’t allow all such.
God bless you for this statement you made. The precious coach mentioned all this but no the NFF didn’t see anything wrong in it. Read they even had women sleeping over in their hotel rooms.
loooool, can’t stop laughing with this analogy. But the student went outside to horn their tactics, so why are they having difficulties when they come for national assignment.
Everybody thinks he is Ronaldo or Messi in that team, no tactics no training pitch Routine, everybody wants to dribble and beat players, No discipline in that team in CAMP Every Content Creator from Aba to Ajegunle is allowed in Camp what is going on in Nigeria why is there no discipline in that country for Christ sake this is SAD!!
Honestly the Rwanda coach, Libyan coach are better than the clown we have as coach. Please can the NFF do the needful and hire any of them. It cannot be worse than what we are going through
These smaller teams in Africa are acheiving results better than expected even beyond their abilities and experience due to better quality coaching.
Going for the best coaches brings something extra to a team it gives them belief,that’s why they could boast about beating Nigeria,and Rwanda just did,we were lucky to have gotten something versus Benin ..One on one these players are no where close to the quality we boast of but collectively they have demonstrated to have a very compact team well educated in modern day tactics..
Meanwhile,politics is our bane..Every super eagles team must have a northerner included.Club form is of little or no importance a shame..Some older players like Iheanacho who’s clearly off form still gets the greenlight pathetic!Until we start embracing excellence we will continue to get this kind of shameful results against oppositions like Rwanda and co..
By all indications,Eguavoen not able to outshine the Rwandan coach and to an extent Rohr(away)meaning keeping him in the super eagles job may spell doom to our world cup aspirations,yet hiring a foreign coach with little knowledge of our team and little time to work with could also impede or hinder our chances of qualification.
Our future looks bleak with this administration.Gusau has not done a good job,i hope this time around we would see a proactive admimnistrator who will take stock and come up with something fantastic to turnaround the current state of football in the country..
I disagree a bit with your opening paragraph. In an article on CS earlier today titled “AFCON 2025Q: ‘Our Boys Are 100% Professionals’ –Eguavoen Vows Super Eagles’ Victory Against Rwanda”, a commenter wrote:
”
Larry 15 hours ago
“Eguavoen dismissed criticisms about Nigeria’s away form in the qualifiers. “We didn’t lose any away games. Football has evolved, and teams now prepare well against Nigeria. Earning points away deserves credit,” he said.”
If you can’t win away from home, then you don’t deserve to lead the team.
BASED ON AWAY MATCHES, HERE IS THE REALITY IN AFCQ
Group A
Comoros won drawn 1 (won in Tunis)
Tunisia won 2
Group B
Morocco 100%, 10 away goals
Group C
Egypt won 2 drawn 1 6 away goals
Group E
Algeria won 2 drawn 1
Group F
Angola won 2 away from home
GroupH
Cong DR won 2
Group I
Mali won 2 drawn 1
Grpup K
South Africa won 2 drawn 1
Group L
Senegal won all 3 away (100%)”
When push comes to shove, the big boys still show up. They still have the same windows Eguavoen said are insufficient to try out new players so bench warmers will continue to stroll into camp 3 hours to matches and have first team shirts.
Minnows still exist in football. Our problem is we are stagnant and have lost the fear factor. African vice champions are heading to world cup qualifiers with a loss against our next opponents. What a story.
AGAIN, GUSAU WILL BE THE FIRST NFF OFGICIAL TO OVERSEE TWO CONSECUTIVE WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION FAILURES. FIRST, AS MEMBER OF PINNICKS BOARD AND THEN AS HEAD OF NFF THE NEXT TERM.
IT WILL BE AN ETERNAL HISTORY FOR HIM AND A RECORD THAT MIGHT ENDURE FOR A LONG TIME unless Eagles are so decimated and retrogressed.
After all, I know someone was in the committee that oversaw back to back 2015 and 2017 AFCON qualifiers failures. Why should world cup be any different?
The powerhouses you mentioned above are successful due to having standard technical bench,exactly what we’re lacking.
I bet you with Eguavoen as coach of Morocco,they wouldn’t amass 18 points out of 18!
@Greenturf, Until we get proper football administrators, Nigerian football is in status quo. Those criminals at the helm of our football are just there to make money for themselves. And they will do anything to stay there. They are crooks.
I am really looking forward to a return of Sia1. It is just unfortunate he is always called when everything is getting bad to rescue the team. It is why he has not been successful. He is still the best indigenous coach we have out there in terms of tactics currently. His team is always an attacking minded one and never a dull moment in his selection.
Samson Siasia is the best indiginous coach Nigeria have… they will never give him the team from start of qualifiers… Eguaveon na Toto coach!
Which yeye Samson Siasia, abeg rest my brother.
Aside, the Olympics team, which other achievement dey for him managerial Resume?
Our so called local coaches cum class of 94 turned coaches are not up to scratch but always want to cut their teeths with the Super Eagles job.
My people please look at the career progression of this Morocco Coach, little wonder he’s doing well and injecting new faces to plug holes in his team. He’s got a clear idea of how he wants to set up his team plus he’s backed by a functional, incorrupt, unbiased and competent FA.
I introduce to you ‘Walid Regragui’
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walid_Regragui
Loooooooool. Abi o. What happened to he has better reflexes. So who is pretending to be enyeama in goal now. Make that Demented rodent narcissist come and take his brother. Guess he hasn’t healed very well. Some spicy peanut should be good for him
The powerhouses you mentioned above are successful due to having standard technical bench,exactly what we’re lacking.
I bet you with Eguavoen as coach of Morocco,they wouldn’t amass 18 points out of 18!
Lol. He will not even make their shortlist for interview.. Very true. I wonder what kind of input he makes in the technical department. Blind leading the blind into a ditch.
See the steady progression and growth of the Coach of Morocco nah.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walid_Regragui
My own na this Diaz of a boy, dude just Dey destroy Africa teams anyhow, another hat trick today, making 5 goals in two matches . What.
Make una leave the coach alone and start calling out some of this shitty players. Will the coach enter the field of play to show professionals how to play. Am sick and tired of you all calling out the coach, what about the damnnnn players for Christ sake. WHo else would he invite again. Our country parades the deadliest names in attack, but no they struggle to create chances to score, is it the coach that will create the chances
Isn’t the coach responsible for inviting players? He’s ultimately at fault if he invites players that don’t live up to expectations. There’s a reason foreign coaches perform better, and it’s bcos they don’t select with emotions. A foreign coach wouldn’t start Iheanacho in both matches (and at the right wing) just because he’s senior man. Those guys work with data, they’re not from any nigerian tribe and not anybody’s friend. Everyone is on a level-playing field when there’s a foreigner.
@Kenneth, let me tell you for free here…………………….when you have a bunch of medical students who scored an average of 300 marks in JAMB but have poor team of lecturers in medical school, they will turn out to be quack doctors bro
This analogy is not always true, sorry. They are not just good enough. The good ones will always be outstanding and self-inspired, just like Osimhen and Ademola. A mediocre is a mediocre and the good ones will always strive for the best even with bad coaches. Though, there are some natural leader or managers that can influence but it will still take them to have the good or best legs or talents to be up there. I do not totally agree with the saying that an army of Sheeps led by a lion is better or will defeat an army of lion led by a sheep. All of they can be lazy Sheeps without an output, lol. Any coach that assemble an arrays of talent we had in 1994 is sure of 75% victory. Motivation and tactics will make it 100%
loooool, can’t stop laughing with this analogy. But the student went outside to horn their tactics, so why are they having difficulties when they come for national assignment.
loooool, can’t stop laughing with this analogy. But the student went outside to horn their tactics, so why are they having difficulties when they come for national assignment.