Augustine Eguavoen, the interim coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria, has given an explanation for why he chose to start Victor Osimhen on the bench during the team’s 0-0 tie with the Amavubi of Rwanda.
Rwanda 0-0 Nigeria
At the recently renovated Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, Nigeria and Rwanda held each other scoreless on Tuesday.
However, the Super Eagles managed to hold the top spot in their qualifying group after Benin Republic’s 3-0 demolition of them in Uyo on Saturday.
The result was similar to two previous meetings between the two countries in Kigali.
In a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying match at the Amahoro, Nigeria forced a 1-1 draw, and in a 2013 AFCON qualifier at the Stade Regional de Nyamirambo, both teams drew 0-0.
Eguavoen on Osimhen
Eguavoen benched Osimhen for the second straight Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier.
After the interval, the Galatasaray forward replaced Victor Boniface.
Speaking at the press conference, Eguavoen explained his decision to bench the new Galatasaray striker.
He said, “Osimhen is our brother, you can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. We know what he is going through in Napoli.
“He just moved to Galatasaray and has not been playing active football for a while now.”
The Super Eagles top the table as they return to take on Libya in a two-leg affair scheduled for October.
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