Two first half goals from striker Victor Osimhen did the damage as Nigeria defeated Rwanda 2-0 at Amahoro Stadium on Friday, March 21 in a 2026 World Cup qualifier Group C game. The on-form striker who plays club football for Turkish outfit Galatasaray first suffered an injury scare in the early minutes of the game and was attended to by medics, before he got back to his legs and carried on. Rwanda's early approach to the game seemed to be a cautious one as they sat in their own half and allowed Nigeria to enjoy possession and pass the ball around. Nigeria had a free kick in the 11th minute and an unmarked Osimhen who was lurking inside Amavubi's box made no mistake but put it into the net. Nigeria could have made it 2-0 in the 15th minute as an attempted clearance of a Samuel Chukwueze cross by Ange Mutsinzi nearly resulted in an own goal. Luckily, the ball sailed over the bar. In the 26th minute, Rwanda's shot-stopper Fiacre Ntwari pulled a superb save from a curling effort by Moses Simon, to keep the score 1-0. Rwanda brought on Gilbert Mugisha for Samuel Gueulette who was ineffective on the wings, a change that saw Amavubi start to dominate the game. Against the run of play, Nigeria made it 2-0 in the 45+2 minutes. Osimhen stole the ball from Thierry Manzi and went on a run before placing it beyond an on-rushing Ntwari. In the second half, Rwanda's coach Adel Amrouche brought on Kevin Muhire for Hakim Sahabo in the 70th minute as he sought to bring more creativity in the midfield. With the introduction of Mugisha and Muhire, Rwanda started to dominate the Super Eagles but they were still not clinical enough as they missed some chances to reduce the deficit. Nigeria pulled out Victor Osimhen for Tolu Arokodare in the 80th minute. Amavubi also brought on Yves Habimana for Innocent Nshuti and Bosco Ruboneka for Jojea Kwizera as they continued their search for a goal. Substitute Yves Habimana dribbled past Stanley Nwabali to slot a ball into the net in the 90th minute but the goal was ruled out as the referee claimed that there was foul in the build-up. There was 5 minutes of added time, but Nigeria held on to their 2-0 win. Rwanda will host Lesotho at Amahoro Stadium on Tuesday, March 25 while Nigeria will welcome the Warriors of Zimbabwe to Uyo Stadium.
