Rwanda lock horns with Nigeria in an epic World 2026 Cup qualifier Group C game at Amahoro Stadium on Friday, March 21.
Prior to the crunch clash, Rwanda lost their top spot to Benin who played a 2-2 draw with Zimbabwe on Thursday. A win would push the East African nation closer to a dream first ever senior World Cup appearance while a similar result could potentially bring the Super Eagles in the fresh contention for a ticket back to the world's most prestigious football tournament after missing out in Qatar in 2022.
Stakes are high between the two teams and Weekend Sport writers shared their thoughts and predictions on the much-anticipated encounter.
Hamza Nkuutu
Prediction: Rwanda 1-1 Nigeria
I am not a man of making predictions, but Rwanda vs Nigeria has always been a difficult one to call for the punters. It's not going to be any different even this time round. My heart tells me Amavubi will squeeze it 1-0 but the head says it's going to be a draw 1-1. These two teams have a history of even matches.
Each team has won once and drawn four of the previous six international meetings. Rwanda won the most recent match, which gives them the momentum and with home advantage. I don't see Adel Amrouche losing his first match in charge of Rwanda.
Peter Kamasa
Prediction: Rwanda 1-1 Nigeria
Despite being major underdogs, Rwanda surprisingly sits top of Group C in the CAF qualification table after four rounds. Only first place secures a spot at the 2026 World Cup.
This didn't come by chance, the players worked for it and, if you look at the history Rwanda has managed to silence Super Eagles in matches held in Kigali and I expect them to do the same ahead Friday's match.
On paper, this looks like an easy win for Nigeria, but that certainly won't be the case here because, if the boys can give their best, it can be deferent story.
Edmund Okai Gyimah, Football Journalist
Prediction: Rwanda 0-0 Nigeria
As someone from West Africa (Ghana), I know Nigeria too well. They have struggled over the years against smaller teams. Teams such as Guinea Bissau, Central Africa and even in this qualifiers Lesotho, Benin and Zimbabwe all caused them problems.
I don't see Nigeria winning in Kigali. If it was to be Torsten Spittler, this game would have been a done deal for Amavubi but new coach Adel Amrouche will have to get to know the team and that will be the only thing which could be a bane for his team to win.
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Big names don't play and I believe Rwanda can get something from the game. I will go for Rwanda 0 Nigeria 0.
Hudson Kuteesa
Prediction: Rwanda 1-2 Nigeria
Rwanda has had an impressive run of results in the current world cup qualifiers as well as the recently concluded AFCON qualifiers. This has created confidence in the players that big teams like Nigeria and South Africa are beatable. Such is a quite a positive thing that we can count on as we face Nigeria.
However, there are a number of things we need to look at. During the last two games we played against the Nigerians, we got good results, but it is important to mention that the west Africans played well, arguably better than us.
Having mentioned that, Nigeria looks stronger than Rwanda in almost all departments, at least on paper. To get a good result, Rwanda may have to be tactically up to the task. But considering that we have a new coach, I can imagine that he has not had enough time to work with the team. It might be a bit difficult for him to start his tenure with such a big game. I think Rwanda will fight really well on home turf, but in the end, the Nigerians might walk away with a slim victory, for example 2-1.
