Boniface, Iheanacho flop once more, Chukwueze shines – 5 takeaways from Nigeria’s loss to Rwanda

The Tremendous Eagles of Nigeria took on the Wasps of Rwanda on the Godswill Akpabio Worldwide Stadium in Uyo this night in a dead-rubber AFCON qualifier after Eguavoen’s crew had secured a ticket to the AFCON 2025 event in Morocco, Soccernet.ng reviews.

Samuel Chukwueze got here off the bench to interrupt the impasse within the second half earlier than a quick-fire double from Harmless Nshuti and Ange Mutsinzi turned the sport in Rwanda’s favour.

Soccernet.ng takes a have a look at 5 speaking factors from Nigeria’s sloppy efficiency in Uyo this night.

1. Maduka Okoye began his first Tremendous Eagles sport in three years.

The Udinese goalkeeper was between the sticks following Stanley Nwabali’s exit from the Tremendous Eagles camp. Whereas he’d have liked to have stored a clear sheet on his return, the 25-year-old might have performed higher for each of Rwanda’s targets.

2. Iheanacho flops out of place, once more.

The Sevilla striker began on the best in opposition to the Republic of Benin final week, and Eguavoen fielded the previous Leicester Metropolis man in the identical place immediately.

Seniorman was withdrawn at half-time on each events, failing to muster something significant in his time on the pitch.

3. Chukwueze rekindles vibrant spark.

The AC Milan winger has all the time blown cold and warm for membership and nation and is notable for his inconsistent performances. Nonetheless, he was good off the bench immediately and capped his show off with a aim.

4. Nigeria’s World Cup hopes dwindles.

Whereas Eguavoen fielded a barely weaker crew in opposition to Rwanda, Nigeria had been removed from convincing.

They are going to face the identical opponent in March in the course of the World Cup qualifiers, and with the Tremendous Eagles in dire want of constructive outcomes, they might want to step up their sport in the event that they need to play in soccer’s largest event in 2026.

5. Boniface nonetheless can not get going for Nigeria.

For all of his exploits with Bayer 04 Leverkusen within the Bundesliga, Victor Boniface has struggled to impress for the Tremendous Eagles, and his woes in entrance of aim continued immediately. He accomplished simply 13 passes in 90 minutes and had a shot on the right track.