Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the World Cup qualifying match.
Nigeria face a decisive 2026 World Cup qualifier on Saturday against Rwanda. Rwanda sit a point above them — in theory, the Nigerians can still overtake South Africa for top spot, but first they need to climb into the top two.
Nigeria
Back at the end of spring, Nigeria embarked on a run of friendlies in which the marquee names did not take part. For example, in Moscow against Russia, Victor Osimhen did not feature for Nigeria, but Wolverhampton Wanderers' new signing Tolu Arokodare came off the bench to get on the scoresheet (1:1). The coaching staff will make the upcoming call-up without Chidera Ejuke and Akor Adams, but Victor Osimhen will definitely be in the squad — he has found the net three times in the current qualifying campaign (the team’s best mark).
Rwanda
Rwanda lack standout performers — they rely on cohesion across all lines and the strength of a low block. They have conceded only four goals in qualifying (the best statistic in the six-team group), but they have also scored the same four goals — this is the weakest attack in the group alongside Lesotho. In March, Rwanda began a poor run — they lost to Nigeria (0:2) and shared the points with Lesotho (1:1), and in June the team fell short in two friendlies against Algeria (both 2:0).
Nigeria vs Rwanda Prediction
In the aforementioned Matchday 5 2026 World Cup qualifier, Victor Osimhen scored twice for Nigeria — the forward from Galatasaray did it before the break. Rwanda look even less likely to take anything at home.
