The Super Eagles of Nigeria have made it to Uyo about 18 hours behind schedule following an incident with their chartered ValueJet Airline aircraft yesterday.
The players and officials were scheduled to arrive in the Akwa Ibom State capital yesterday afternoon and were indeed on their way from Polokwane, South Africa after Friday’s 2-1 victory over Lesotho when their plane’s windscreen was broken mid-air.
They had to return to Luanda, Angola, where they had stopped over for refuelling, and await another plane from Lagos, which eventually brought them to Uyo this morning.
The Super Eagles media team confirmed that the contingent arrived at the Obong Victor Attah International Airport at around 8.05am today for the key 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Benin Republic.
The win-or-bust clash is scheduled for Tuesday at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, with the Super Eagles needing victory over their former coach Gernot Rohr’s side while hoping South Africa fail to beat visiting Rwanda in Nelspruit, also on Tuesday.
The Benin Republic team arrived in Uyo yesterday for the match, a day after defeating Rwanda 1-0 in Kigali.
The Super Eagles are currently third in African qualifying Group C, three points behind Benin Republic and one off South Africa, with only one automatic ticket available for the World Cup slated for the United States of America, Mexico and Canada next year.