Nigeria vs Rwanda: New wolf Arokodare rescues Super Eagles from World Cup waterloo

A second-half strike by Tolu Arokodare helped the Super Eagles to victory over Rwanda in a 2026 World Cup qualifier on Saturday.

The new Wolves striker, on as a substitute, struck to break the resistance of a stubborn Amavubi and lift the three-time African champions to third spot in Group C. The win, only their second in the seven-match old series, also kept Nigeria’s admittedly slim hopes of reaching next year’s Mundial alive.

Tuesday will see the Super Eagles face group leaders South Africa in Bloemfontein, and a win would see them go within a point of Bafana Bafana with two matches to play.

Super Eagles make hard work of unambitious Rwanda

Needing a win to keep afloat in the voyage to next summer’s World Cup, Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle handed a start to reigning CAF Player of the Year Ademola Lookman despite his lack of playing time over the last three months. Captain of the side William Ekong was also left out of the starting lineup, with youngster Benjamin Fredrick starting alongside Calvin Bassey at centre-back.

The Super Eagles move up to 3rd place in Group C with 10 points. Next up: South Africa (Tuesday)#supereagles #BafanaBafana #arokodare pic.twitter.com/FvlAsG6lrE

— Afrik-Foot NG (@AfrikFootNG) September 6, 2025

With visiting Rwanda expectedly limited in their ambitions, the onus was on Nigeria to make most of the running. Chelle’s side started brightly, and thought they had opened the scoring through Victor Osimhen early on, but the Galatasaray man was adjudged to have been offside.

The lion’s share of possession yielded little of note in the first half, however. In the second half, however, the Super Eagles picked up the tempo, drawing Fiacre Ntwari in the Amavubi goal into a number of good saves. The breakthrough would eventually come through Arokodare, on as a substitute in place of Frank Onyeka, to flick the ball home following a scramble on the goal line.