Ekong keen to restore Eagle’s W’Cup hopes with Rwanda win
Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has expressed determination to secure a crucial victory against Rwanda in Friday’s World Cup qualifier at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, insisting that the team is focused on restoring Nigeria’s campaign.
“We read about that in some places but we are not bothered. I was part of the last game in Kigali which ended scoreless, but we know that we cannot afford a draw this time,” Ekong said on Wednesday.
“Our objective is to pick the three points and bring some life back into our campaign. We are certainly not concerned about history books and what has happened before now. Qualification for the FIFA World Cup is our priority.”
The three-time African champions are yet to achieve victory over Rwanda in that country, going back to 20 years ago when a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying match ended 1-1 at the Amahoro Stadium.
In 2011, a 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match at the Stade Regional de Nyamirambo, in the outskirts of Kigali, ended scoreless. In September last year, another 0-0 was the outcome of a 2025 AFCON qualifying match at the Amahoro.
All 23 invited players were at the Eagles’ Radisson Blu nest on Tuesday night and were involved in the second training on Wednesday. The team will have another training session at the Amahoro Stadium on Thursday evening.
Victor Osimhen was among the early arrivals and the 2015 U-17 World Cup top scorer has scored 23 goals for Nigeria in 47 matches.
There are also reigning Africa Player of the Year Ademola Lookman, Simon Moses, Samuel Chukwueze, Sadiq Umar and new invitee Tolu Arokodare to make life difficult for the Amavubi rearguard.
FIFA has appointed Moroccan referee Jalal Jayed to take charge of the game which will kick off at 5 pm Nigeria time. Jayed took charge of a friendly game between the Super Eagles and Ghana’s Black Stars in Marrakech on 22nd March 2024, which Nigeria won 2-1.
That match marked the first time in 18 years that Nigeria defeated Ghana in a game at the senior level.
On Friday, Franco-Malian tactician Éric Sékou Chelle will lead out the Super Eagles for the first time, with the team needing a win to help their chances of picking the only automatic ticket from Group C to the finals in USA, Canada and Mexico next summer.
