By Dayo Awoniyi
Rwanda’s national football team, the Amavubi, is set to land in Lagos on Tuesday as preparations intensify for their pivotal 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying clash with Nigeria.
An advance official from the Rwandan camp is expected in Lagos on Monday, with the full squad arriving at 1:15 pm Tuesday via RwandAir. From there, the team will transfer to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, touching down at 4 pm the same day.
The Matchday 7 showdown at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium carries significant implications for Group H standings. South Africa currently tops the table with 13 points, though their tally remains under FIFA review due to an ineligible player incident against Lesotho in March.
Rwanda and Benin follow with eight points each, while Nigeria sits on seven. Lesotho and Zimbabwe round out the group with six and four points, respectively.
The fixture also reignites a budding rivalry between the Super Eagles and the Amavubi. The teams last met five months ago, with Nigeria securing a 2-0 victory in Kigali.
However, Rwanda previously stunned Nigeria in Uyo nine months ago, coming from behind to win 2-1 in a 2025 AFCON qualifier, though it wasn’t enough to secure tournament qualification.
After Tuesday’s clash, Rwanda will face bottom-placed Zimbabwe in Matchday 8, while Nigeria travels to Bloemfontein for a crucial tie with current leaders South Africa.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
