Eguavoen urges Nigeria to maintain their standards against Rwanda

Nigeria interim coach Augustine Eguavoen wants to finish the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign unbeaten as he prepares for the visit of Rwanda to the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on Monday, November 18.

Kick-off is at 6pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

Current form:

The Super Eagles had already booked their place at the African showpiece in Morocco ahead of the 1-1 draw with Benin in Abidjan on November 14, which kept them four points clear of the Cheetahs at the top of Group D.

Eguavoen has done an admirable job since replacing Finidi George at the helm ahead of the 2025 Afcon qualifiers, picking up two wins and two draws in his fourth stint in charge of the national team.

The 2023 Afcon finalists were also awarded a 3-0 walkover against LIbya last month following the harrowing ordeal they suffered in the lead-up to the game that was eventually cancelled.

Eguavoen's side weren't at their best against Benin and needed an 81st-minute equaliser from Victor Osimhen to keep their undefeated streak intact after Mohamed Tijani had opened the scoring in the 16th minute.

Rwanda held the West African giants to a goalless stalemate in the reverse fixture on September 10, but they will need more than that to qualify for the tournament for only the second time in their history.

The Wasps trail Benin by two points in third place and require a massive favour from the Mediterranean Knights to pip Gernot Rohr's side to the runners-up spot in the group.

Libya recorded their first victory in the group when they edged Rwanda 1-0 in Kigali on November 14 to throw a spanner in the works.

What was said:

Nigeria interim coach Augustine Eguavoen

"Coming into this game we haven't lost a game. So we have to maintain that standard and try to win the game, worst case scenario draw.

"We want to qualify without losing a game and we knew we're capable of [that], we have all the qualities whatever it takes to beat anybody any time. Then it was more of under pressure but we didn't look at that.

"Nigeria is a team that is respected, almost won the Afcon the last time, so we have to maintain that standard."

Players to watch:

Nigeria - Victor Osimhen played the full 90 minutes against Benin for the first time since the 2023 Afcon final, having finally made a full recovery from the muscular injury that hampered him for much of 2024. The 25-year-old striker was rested for the October qualifiers and only featured for 63 minutes of the opening two matches. His goal against the Cheetahs saw Osimhen move up to joint-second in the all-time leading scoring charts for the Super Eagles with 23 goals.

Rwanda - Innocent Nshuti has become a staple in the team over the last 18 months, featuring in every one of their 13 games since being handed his first start in the 2-0 defeat to Mozambique in a 2023 Afcon qualifier on 18 June 2023. The 26-year-old striker opened his account in a 2-0 win over South Africa almost exactly a year ago and is the joint-top scorer in Group D with two goals.

Head-to-Head:

Matches - 5

Nigeria wins - 2

Rwanda wins - 0

Draws - 3