AFCON 2025: Eguavoen, Ekong bullish as Eagles eye victory in Kigali
In anticipation of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying encounter against the Amavubi of Rwanda at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali tomorrow, coach Augustine Eguavoen said his team "is on a momentum."
"The atmosphere in camp is great, and we have the correct mindset right now. All of us at the camp are excited for us to win the three points in Rwanda and maintain our lead in the qualifying table. I'm glad that everyone is in agreement because our purpose for being here is business.
In addition, I'm glad we got here early so the players can get a decent night's sleep before the formal training begins on Monday afternoon.
The Nigerian team travelling to Tuesday's game took off from Victor Attah International Airport in Uyo on Sunday at 12:48 p.m. on a ValueJet Airline Regional Jet 900, and arrived at Kigali International Airport at 5:20 p.m. Rwanda time. Nigeria is behind Rwanda by one hour.
Along with General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi, a few members of the Executive Committee, a few NFF staff members, a few stakeholders, and a few media representatives, the delegation, which consisted of 23 players and team officials, was led by NFF President Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau.
William Ekong, the captain of the team, stated: "We are here for a reason. There is not much more to say." The three points are our objective, and we have discussed amongst ourselves on the imperative of going hard for it from the first blast of the referee’s whistle.
Rwanda has a strong squad and earned a point in their opening game, so this will be a difficult encounter. For the full ninety minutes, we must not give up.
In their own Matchday 1 clash in Tripoli, the Amavubi forced the Mediterranean Knights of Libya to a 1-1 tie.
The game will begin tomorrow at 2 p.m. Nigerian time and 3 p.m. Rwandan time.