AFCON 2025
The Super Eagles of Nigeria will face Russia in an international friendly on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium in Russia.
The Nigeria Football Federation confirmed the fixture on Tuesday, with Nigeria’s FIFA Match Agent, Jairo Pachon of Eurodatasports, also confirming the arrangement.
The encounter will be the second meeting between Nigeria and Russia in 16 months, following their first senior international meeting in June 2025.
The two sides played out a 1–1 draw at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on June 6, 2025. Russia took the lead in the first half after Nigeria defender Semi Ajayi inadvertently turned the ball into his own net, before Tolu Arokodare equalised for the Super Eagles in the 71st minute.
The October fixture will come shortly after Nigeria’s opening two matches in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
The Super Eagles are scheduled to host Madagascar in Uyo on September 25 before travelling to Guinea-Bissau for their second qualifier on September 29. The meeting with Russia will take place exactly one week after the Guinea-Bissau fixture.
The friendly will provide head coach Eric Chelle with another opportunity to assess his squad against European opposition as Nigeria continues preparations for its upcoming international assignments.
For Russia, the match will be another opportunity to test its squad against African opposition after the two countries shared the spoils in their previous encounter.
The match will be played at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, which hosted games during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
