The captain of Rwanda Bizimana Djihad says there is nothing to worry about the attack of the senior national team of Nigeria ahead of tomorrow’s World Cup Qualifiers game against Rwanda, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The attack of the senior national team of Nigeria compromising of former Africa Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen, reigning holder of the award Ademola Lookman and Rookie of the year in Germany Victor Boniface is seen as the main strength of the Nigerian team.

Despite that when both teams met in the AFCON qualifiers last year, the Super Eagles failed to score at the venue of tomorrow’s game, before losing 1-2 at home to Rwanda at their home ground, although it was a meaningless game to the Nigerians after securing qualification already.

Djihad believe they have seen enough from both games against the Super Eagles not to be worried about the star studded attack ahead of tomorrow’s game.

“We played Nigeria twice already. There’s nothing to worry about at all with them having the strongest attacking line in Africa. As players, we are focused on holding them down. We will play to our coach’s instructions and hopefully, we will take our chances tomorrow and get the three points.”

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The senior national team of Nigeria training session ahead of tomorrow’s game against Rwanda in the world cup qualifiers came alive yesterday with all 23 players taking part , OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chelle led the team for a session that lasted almost two hours, and we picked five things we noticed during the course of the session that was open to the media.

Unfit Boniface – Probably due to his lack of game time at German side Bayer Leverkusen. He looked off the pace, heavy and also lag behind in most of the fitness drills.

Ball Playing Goalkeepers – The coach ensured that the goalkeepers were involved in the open session where they used their feet more. A sign that his system will be based on using shot stopper who can really play with their feet aside making saves.

Shooting From Far – Chelle was quick to shout shoot whenever any player was in sight of a chance to lef fly. He kept on empathizing on shooting and told Samuel Chukwueze you have to shoot if you want to score.

High Pressing – It was clear that the coach wants every player to be involved in the defensive side of things during tomorrow’s games. He barked out the world press non stop when there is a turnover.

More Drills With The Ball – The coach ensured that most of the drills were done with the ball. Clearly showing that he expects them to see the ball more often and need them to perfect how to make the best use of it.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Judging from what we observed during the Super Eagles training session and how the coach Eric Chelle expects them to attack, the team will likely line up in a 4-3-3 formation when they take on Rwanda tomorrow in the world cup qualifiers in Kigali.

Chelle who is big on possession based football is keen on ensuring that he plays to the strength of the players with an all attack approach, and playing each player in the manner which they are used at their respective clubs.

Part of the idea of the new man is to have the team play a possession based football with high pressing from two midfielders higher up the pitch , while a lone defensive midfielder sits and dictate play from deep. That role is said to be for Onyedika.

Chelle watched him interpret the role to perfection playing in the UEFA Champions League for Club Brugge, and he has decided to hand him the same responsibility against Rwanda.

It looks like the duo of Alex Iwobi and Wilfred Ndidi will be the left sided and right sided midfielders respectively, playing very close to the wingers in Moses Simon and Ademola Lookman. They are expected to create an overload with top striker Osimhen in the box when the team attacks.

In defence, a back four of Ola Aina, Bruno Onyemaechi, William Troost-Ekong and Calvin Bassey will sit just in front of Stanley Nwabali who is expected to keep his spot as first choice goalkeeper.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The senior national team of Nigeria yesterday had their second training session under new coach Eric Chelle ahead of their upcoming World Cup Qualifiers game against Rwanda tomorrow in Kigali, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chelle who will be in charge of the team for the first time during the game against the Amavubi led the players in a two hour training session that had all invited players available.

Alhassan Yusuf who was the last member of the team was particularly impressive with his work rate, quick feet and also distribution. He made very good use of the small space they were made to play under during the course of what was an intense session.

Another player who was particularly impressive was AC Milan winger Samuel Chukwueze who used his abilities to get past his markers very well, and also showed good body balance when he is on the ball. His bag of tricks was also another part of his game that was evident.

Nantes winger Moses Simon was by far the most impressive player during the session by winning back possession with ease, and also not misplacing a single pass. He got special praises from Chelle three times during the course of the two and half hour training.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria Eric Chelle has made some replacements in the Super Eagles order of captains by including Victor Osimhen among four others, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chelle will be in charge of the team for the first time when they take on Rwanda tomorrow in the world cup qualifiers, and the team have been in Kigali perfecting their strategy for the game.

Ahead of the game, Chelle has taken a bold decision to bring on loan Napoli forward Osimhen into the leadership structure of the team in the absence of Ahmed Musa and another deputy captain Kenneth Omeruo.

While Musa still remain the substantive captain as long as he is yet to announce his retirement from the team, there seem to be a consensus among the coaches that he won’t be involved in the remaining games of the world cup qualifiers.

The story is the same for Omeruo, who hasn’t been involved since after the AFCON one year ago, and he is presently clubless, after terminating his contract with Kasimpasa following a long battle with injuries and fitness concerns.

Their vacuum has now been filled with the admission of Osimhen into the leadership group behind Moses Simon, Wilfred Ndidi and William Troost-Ekong. Alex Iwobi who is older than Osimhen in the team based on when they made their debut wasn’t considered by the coach.

Ekong will lead the team with Ndidi as his first assistant while Simon will be the second assistant.

Ade Emmanuel

Tanzania based goalkeeper Amas Obasogie says he is ready if called upon as the new first choice goalkeeper of the team ahead of their world cup qualifiers game against Rwanda in Kigali on Friday, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Obasogie who is yet to be capped by the senior national team of Nigeria is now the second choice in the absence of Udinese’s Maduka Okoye, who played ahead of him in the team’s last international game which was a 1-2 loss to Friday’s opponent in Uyo.

Speaking on first choice goalkeeper Nwabali, the Singida SC man said the Chippa Utd man fully deserved his spot as he has done well in recent games, he however said he is ready when called upon.

“I respect the effort Stanley Nwabali has put into claiming the number one shirt. Remember he also proved himself in the NPFL before doing the same at Chippa United”, he said in an interview with the Cable.

“So being in the Eagles camp is a huge opportunity for me. I respect all the players, and the experience improves me tremendously. I train with the mentality that I am a Super Eagles goalkeeper and dream of myself putting on the national team jersey.

“If the opportunity comes to represent Nigeria, I aim to play my part and take it fully.”

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Club Brugge midfielder Raphael Onyedika has been handed a key role for the Super Eagles when they take on Rwanda on Friday in the 2026 world cup qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

New coach of the Nigerian team Eric Chelle will be in charge of the team for the first time in Friday’s game, and has already mapped out how the team will play as they go in search of their first win after four games in the qualifiers.

Part of the idea of the new man is to have the team play a possession based football with high pressing from two midfielders higher up the pitch , while a lone defensive midfielder sits and dictate play from deep. That role is said to be for Onyedika.

Chelle watched him interpret the role to perfection playing in the UEFA Champions League for Club Brugge, and he has decided to hand him the same responsibility against Rwanda.

It looks like the duo of Alex Iwobi and Wilfred Ndidi will be the left sided and right sided midfielders respectively, playing very close to the wingers in Moses Simon and Ademola Lookman. They are expected to create an overload with top striker Osimhen in the box when the team attacks.

In defence, a back four of Ola Aina, Bruno Onyemaechi, William Troost-Ekong and Calvin Bassey will sit just in front of Stanley Nwabali who is expected to keep his spot as first choice goalkeeper.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle had his first training session with the senior national team of Nigeria ahead of Friday’s world cup qualifiers game against Rwanda in Kigali, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chelle had the full compliment of all invited players available for the two and half hour session, bar Alhassan Yusuf who arrived this morning and will be a part of the session later this evening.

A backroom staff who gave sketchy details of the session said the emphasis was largely on playing with the ball, because Rwanda will likely sit deep with the aim of hitting on the break . He said shooting from far was also another aspect of the training.

The new coach also had a session with the defenders to work on set pieces, which was a problem in their last two games as they conceded three times from it. He feels Rwanda who scored twice will be aiming to use same trick again.

He also want the players to impose themselves on their opponent by dictating the flow of the game very early, and also push for an early goal to unsettle their host who are expected to sit back and aim to hit on the break.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle had his first training session with the team yesterday ahead of the world cup 2026 qualifiers game against Rwanda on Friday, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chelle who was appointed in February made his ideas and game plans known to the players during a close door session that had 22 of the 23 invited players taking part. Only Alhassan Yusuf who arrived this morning from the USA missed it.

Speaking on the methods of the coach, Malian journalist Eric Camara said fans of the Super Eagles should expect a system that encourages high pressing, quick transition in counter attack situation and also patient build up against low block teams.

” I can tell you what the session looked like. Patient buildup when you are up against teams that sit back and quick transition football against teams that are high up in your area. He loves to also see his players press high up to recover possession”, he explained.

” You can’t say he is a defensive coach even though he likes his team to play with three center backs. He also isn’t a slave to one particular system of play so he also encourages playing with a flat back four in a 4-3-3 formation”, he concluded.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman