Boniface, Iheanacho flop again, Chukwueze shines – Five takeaways from Nigeria’s loss to Rwanda

The Super Eagles of Nigeria took on the Wasps of Rwanda at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo this evening in a dead-rubber AFCON qualifier after Eguavoen’s team had secured a ticket to the AFCON 2025 tournament in Morocco, Soccernet.ng reports.

Samuel Chukwueze came off the bench to break the deadlock in the second half before a quick-fire double from Innocent Nshuti and Ange Mutsinzi turned the game in Rwanda’s favour.

Soccernet.ng takes a look at five talking points from Nigeria’s sloppy performance in Uyo this evening.

1. Maduka Okoye started his first Super Eagles game in three years.

The Udinese goalkeeper was between the sticks following Stanley Nwabali’s exit from the Super Eagles camp. While he’d have loved to have kept a clean sheet on his return, the 25-year-old could have done better for both of Rwanda’s goals.

2. Iheanacho flops out of position, again.

The Sevilla striker started on the right against the Republic of Benin last week, and Eguavoen fielded the former Leicester City man in the same position today.

Seniorman was withdrawn at half-time on both occasions, failing to muster anything meaningful in his time on the pitch.

3. Chukwueze rekindles bright spark.

The AC Milan winger has always blown hot and cold for club and country and is notable for his inconsistent performances. Nonetheless, he was brilliant off the bench today and capped his display off with a goal.

4. Nigeria’s World Cup hopes dwindles.

While Eguavoen fielded a slightly weaker team against Rwanda, Nigeria were far from convincing.

They will face the same opponent in March during the World Cup qualifiers, and with the Super Eagles in dire need of positive results, they will need to step up their game if they want to play in football’s biggest tournament in 2026.

5. Boniface still cannot get going for Nigeria.

For all of his exploits with Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, Victor Boniface has struggled to impress for the Super Eagles, and his woes in front of goal continued today. He completed just thirteen passes in 90 minutes and had a shot on target.