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00:00Get the most insightful analysis on everything football every week.
00:16My name is Ayomidi Shusbo and this is The Nutmeg.
00:19And the die is cast for the Super Eagles of Nigeria as they enter into the first internationals
00:25of the new year 2025.
00:28Definitely they have it all to do in their World Cup Qualification Series.
00:33Three points out of four games played in Group C.
00:36And let's take a look at the opposition, Rwanda, the Mavubi.
00:39They'll be playing against these guys at the Armado Stadium.
00:42And the Super Eagles of Nigeria have been locked in, in Kigali since Monday, training
00:47sessions have gone on.
00:49And it's about to be Coach Eric Schell's first match, first game, first assignment as the
00:55head coach of the Super Eagles.
00:56But let's take a look at his opposition this time around.
01:01It is Adel Amruci, new Rwandan coach, also set to make an impression.
01:05He's the new coach for the Mavubi as well.
01:09The Mavubi, speaking of them, have done pretty well in the qualifiers so far, exceeding expectations.
01:14Seven points out of four games played, beating the likes of Benare Public, beating the likes
01:19of South Africa.
01:20And they're coming in to this encounter using, with a lot of confidence, coming into this
01:26one as well.
01:27They are top of the standings in Group C, and they have it all to do as well, trying
01:33to extend the advantage in Group C. It'll be the first time, if they do qualify out
01:38of that group, it'll be the first time that they make it into the World Cup.
01:43And this is a worthy achievement for Adel Amruci, if he does pull it off.
01:48And that is a worry for the Super Eagles, which we'll now be looking at.
01:52Of course, three points out of a possible nine points is woeful, to say the least.
01:59But Eric Cho has great jobs on his hands at this point in time, tutoring Super Eagles
02:05to what is an unthinkable quest at this point, because the Super Eagles of Nigeria simply
02:10cannot afford to drop any more points.
02:12In fact, they have to concentrate and win all their games, starting from Friday, when
02:17they face the Amavubi, but also they have to hope that results in other games, especially
02:23of South Africa, especially of Benin Republic and Rwanda, who are all tied with seven points,
02:29do not go according to plan for the opposition as well.
02:33What will happen in this one?
02:35We saw Nigeria face Rwanda in the qualification series for the African Cup of Nations, and
02:39Rwanda surprisingly picked up a result in Uyu, defeating the Super Eagles of Nigeria
02:452-1 in the fall of 2024.
02:48And now Eric Cho is walking into this one, trying to make an impression this time of
02:53himself.
02:54He's led the Eagles of Mali into the latter stages of the African Cup of Nations and comes
03:00in with a lot of credit in the bank for himself, but Nigerian fans will want him to make a
03:06new impression.
03:07And it remains to be seen if he can do just that.
03:10Well, he has the ammunition, he has the arsenal to do that, the likes of Victor Oseman in
03:17the training sessions, the likes of Ademala Lukman.
03:20These are back-to-back African players of the year, and definitely he can count on them
03:26for this one.
03:27What do I think will happen in this counter?
03:30I do feel that will be a low-scoring one.
03:32The Rwandans are high in confidence entering into this encounter.
03:36The Super Eagles know very well that they need all three points.
03:40Nothing else will be acceptable, especially as they return to play Zimbabwe in Uyu in
03:46the Godzilla Fabio Stadium on Tuesday.
03:49Well, a win for the Super Eagles is what we hope for, but I see a low-scoring encounter
03:54and more probably, perhaps Rwanda might just not drop any points.
04:00I've seen enough of them to conclude that they are in strong opposition.
04:04Well then, what does this mean for the entirety of the Super Eagles World Cup Qualification
04:08Series?
04:09It remains to be seen, with other results being played across board.
04:13But we'll take your predictions in the comment section.
04:15Thank you very, very much for watching this edition of The Nutmeg, and you can be part
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04:31My name is Ademala Lukman.
04:33See you next time.
04:34Bye for now.