There will be no two wins in two games for coach Augustine Eguavoen as Nigeria were held to a goalless draw by Rwanda in Kigali on Tuesday, Soccernet.ng reports.
After leading the Super Eagles to a convincing win over Benin three days ago, Eguavoen would have looked forward to keeping a 100 per cent win record against the Wasps.
However, both teams settled for a share of the spoils with Nigeria retaining their status as group leaders.
How it happened – First half
Coach Augustine Eguavoen made only one change to the Super Eagles team that defeated Benin 3-0 on Saturday, with Alex Iwobi dropping to the bench and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru taking his spot.
Despite scoring one of the goals against the Cheetahs, Victor Osimhen was also listed among the substitutes while Victor Boniface again led the attack.
Still, Nigeria played on the front foot for the best part of the first half, created several goalscoring chances, and were unlucky to head into the break without a goal.
Lookman, who grabbed a brilliant brace in Uyo, headed the ball into the net in the 22nd minute but the effort was ruled out for a Boniface foul.
That was the second clear chance for the Atalanta forward who had earlier burst through on goal before seeing his low finish blocked by the Rwandan goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari.
Nigeria disallowed goal vs Rwanda #AFCON2025Q #RWANGA
Ademola Lookman robbed? pic.twitter.com/tSPO5haTLx
— Dr. Victor Ademola (@AdemolaVictorTv) September 10, 2024
Just past the half-hour mark, Boniface also briefly thought he had his name on the scoresheet but his effort ricocheted off the post. Lookman was on and to nod the rebound but it was cleared off the line as the Super Eagles searched for the opening goal.
Shortly after, Bruno Onyemaechi joined the attack and found himself at the back of a delicious Semi Ajayi cross, however, the wingback directed his header agonisingly wide off target.
Despite Nigeria’s inefficiency in front of goal, coach Eguavoen would have been the happier of the two managers at the midway point of the game.
Second half
Eguavoen sent in Osimhen and Moses Simon right after the break in place of Boniface and Chukuweze as the interim coach looked to correct the errors of the first half.
Within the first ten minutes, Nigeria could have been two goals up but Dele-Bashiru shot wide from the edge of the box and Amavubi’s goalie saved from Simon.
Despite that fast Super Eagles start, the hosts grew into the game and controlled much of the possession.
However, Nigeria still created the better chances of the half, with Simon and Osimhen getting efforts on targets, which were saved.
The home team’s goalie Ntwari had enjoyed an excellent game and he crowned an unforgettable afternoon with another brilliant save from an Osimhen header in stoppage time.
While Nigeria would be disappointed with the draw, it helped the Super Eagles extend their unbeaten record against Rwanda to six games.
What next?
Nigeria will next host Libya in the AFCON qualifiers during the next international break in October before facing the same opponents eight days later in Tripoli.