On Tuesday, Nigeria played out a goalless draw with Rwanda in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier played in Kigali.
It was the second fixture in the series for both countries.
The Super Eagles had beaten Benin Republic 3-0 last Saturday, while the Amavubi drew 1-1 with Libya.
So, what are the four things we learnt from the stalemate in Kigali?
1. Super Eagles take control: Thanks to their 3-0 thumping of Gernot Rohr’s men, the Super Eagles have assumed control of Group D. The three-time African champions are now on four points, two more than Rwanda. If either Benin or Libya win in their fixture, they will likely be in second place.
2. Officiating still dodgy in Africa: It’s a shame that there was no Video Assistant Referee, VAR, in Kigali. Nigeria scored a very legitimate goal from a throw-in in the first half, but the linesman raised his flag to chalk it off. In this day of technology in football, nobody was able to take a second look and correct the blatant error.
3. Boniface fails to impress again: Once again, Augustine Eguavoen opted to start Victor Boniface as the spearhead of attack, with Victor Osimhen still working his way back to top form. However, the Bayer Leverkusen forward failed to impress and was hauled off at half time. One wonders if he will get more chances to nail down a shirt in the starting XI.
4. Nigeria might have a midfield problem: Eguavoen made only one change from the Benin Republic game. Alex Iwobi made way for Fisayo Dele-Bashiru. But the tweak did not hand control to Nigeria, as the midfield failed to click and dominate the game. A case could be made for Raphael Onyedika, who started both matches from the bench and seems like a possible solution to the conundrum.
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