Captain William Ekong has vowed that the Super Eagles will consolidate the leadership of the Group D of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers by “going hard” for the three full points in Rwanda Tuesday afternoon.
The Super Eagles won their opening AFCON qualifier Saturday in Uyo 3-0 against Benin to go top of the standings and three more points in Kigali will see them maintain top spot.
The Amavubi forced Libya’s Mediterranean Knights to a 1-1 draw in Tripoli in their own Matchday 1 encounter.
Tuesday’s match will kick off at 3pm Rwanda time (2pm Nigeria time).
Ekong said on arrival in Kigali: “There is nothing much to say other than that we are here for a purpose. Our target is the three points, and we have spoken among ourselves on the imperative of going hard for it from the first blast of the referee’s whistle.
“It is going to be a tough game because Rwanda have a good team and got a point from their first match. We must not relent throughout the 90 minutes.”
Caretaker coach Augustine Eguavoen said his squad “are on a momentum” as they countenance Tuesday’s match against the Amavubi of Rwanda at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali.
“We have the right mentality now, and the mood in camp is excellent. Everyone in camp is eager for us to pick up the three points in Rwanda and stay firmly on top of the qualifying table,” he said.
“We are here for business and I am happy that everyone is on the same page.
“I am also happy that we have arrived here in good time, and the players can rest well while we look forward to the official training on Monday afternoon.”
The Nigerian delegation to Tuesday’s match, which departed the Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo at 12.48pm on Sunday aboard a ValueJet Airline’s Regional Jet 900, landed at the Kigali International Airport at 5.20pm Rwanda time. Rwanda is one hour ahead of Nigeria.
The delegation, which included 23 players and the team’s officials, was led by President of NFF, Ibrahim Musa Gusau, and also had NFF 1st Vice President Felix Anyansi-Agwu and a couple of Executive Committee Members, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi, a couple of NFF Staff, few stakeholders and few media representatives.
