By Victor Kanayo
The Super Eagles of Nigeria early Saturday morning landed in Kigali, Rwanda ahead of Sunday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup African qualification series Day 2 encounter against the Warriors of Zimbabwe.
The match was meant to hold in Harare but FIFA couldn’t approve any of the host stadium for an international match.
The Nigerian delegation, made up of players and officials traveled to East Africa aboard a chartered aircraft that departed from the Victor Attah International Airport by midnight on Friday, and touch down in Kigali at dawn, before a two-hour road trip to Butare, the city where the match venue (Huye Stadium) is located.
Artificial Turf Hurdles, Official Kick-off Time
The 20,000 -capacity Huye Stadium has an artificial turf.
The Eagles and the Warriors will clash at the Huye Stadium from 3pm Rwanda time (1pm Nigeria).
Victory on Sunday will take the Super Eagles to four points with the campaign one-fifth of the way gone, after their wasteful play against Lesotho got them only one point out of available three.
Zimbabwe Initial Strike
The Zimbabweans had boycotted training ahead of the encounter in demand for their dues from the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA).
Heritage Times HT reports that ZIFA had to run around to ensure they deposited the money into the players’ accounts on Thursday night to avert another stand-off ahead of the clash with the Super Eagles.
Baltemar Brito’s side held Rwanda to a 0-0 draw in their opening fixture at the Huye Stadium, Butare on Wednesday.
