Nigeria @1.88 ODDS will travel to Rwanda @ 5.91 ODDS for the second round of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series after opening their campaign with a victory last weekend.
The Super Eagles comfortably defeated Benin in their opening match of the qualifying series, while the Wasps salvaged a draw against Libya.
Rwanda have only appeared in the AFCON once in their history, in Tunisia 2004 when they failed to progress beyond the group stage after one win, draw and defeat each.
The Wasps began their journey to qualify for the 2025 edition with a 1-1 draw against Libya in Tripoli last Wednesday – Sobi Al Dawi gave the hosts the lead in the 16th minute, but Innocent Nshuti equalised for Torsten Spittler’s side early in the second half.
The Wasps, now unbeaten in their last two matches, will face Nigeria looking to continue their fine form under Spittler – since the German took charge of the team in November, they have lost just once, winning and drawing three each in seven matches.
However, his next challenge will be helping Rwanda record a first victory against Tuesday’s opponents, as they have failed to win any of their five previous meetings.
Augustine Eguavoen began his reign as interim boss of the Super Eagles with a convincing 3-0 victory over Benin at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium last Saturday.
Fresh from his Ballon d’Or nomination, Atalanta forward, Ademola Lookman, put Nigeria ahead with a brilliant solo goal just before half time.
Galatasaray’s new man, Victor Osimhen doubled the lead in the 78th minute with a one-time finish from a cross, before Lookman headed in his second of the game in the 83rd minute to seal the victory.
The victory ended a run of three matches without a win for the Super Eagles and has put them top of Group D heading into the game against Rwanda on Tuesday.
It will be the sixth meeting between both sides, but the Super Eagles have the upper hand with two wins and three draws, including two in the AFCON qualifiers played in 2012 when the visitors drew away and won at home.
Rwanda Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying form:
D
Rwanda form (all competitions):
WDWLWD
Nigeria Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying form:
W
Nigeria form (all competitions):
LWLDLW
We say: Rwanda 1-2 Nigeria
Nigeria looked like a solid side again following a change in leadership and the return of key team members – although Rwanda’s form makes this a challenging fixture for the visitors, we anticipate that the visitors will ultimately prevail.