2026 World Cup Qualifiers: Why Rwanda’s New Coach Is Bad News for Super Eagles
- The Rwandan Football Federation has appointed a new head coach for the national team ahead of March break
- FERWAFA announced Algerian Adel Amrouche as Amavubi’s coach, among other appointees in the federation
- His first official outing is the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier match day five against the Super Eagles of Nigeria
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The Super Eagles of Nigeria are braced for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers match days five and six against Rwanda and Zimbabwe, but there could be a problem.
Nigeria are in a precarious position in the qualifying series after picking up three points from the opening four games and six fifth in Group C of CAF’s qualifiers.
Source: AFP
The Super Eagles are in the same group as Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Benin Republic, South Africa and Rwanda as they try to qualify for the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Jose Peseiro’s Eagles played draws against Lesotho and Zimbabwe, while Finidi George managed the team to a draw against South Africa and a loss to Benin Republic.
The Nigerian Football Federation appointed former Mali head coach Eric Chelle as the new Super Eagles boss, and his major assignment is to secure the 2026 World Cup ticket.
His first match is against Amavubi of Rwanda in Kigali on March 21, and the Rwanda Football Federation has appointed a new head coach after Franck Spittler’s departure in December.
Nigeria will face Rwanda in back-to-back games after losing their final match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.
What Amrouche’s hiring means for Nigeria
According to FERWAFA, Algerian head coach Adel Amrouche is the new head coach after months without a senior first-team coach since the departure of Franck Spittler.
German coach Spittler missed out on the AFCON 2025 ticket on goal difference despite beating Nigeria 2-1 in the final match in Uyo.
As noted by CAF Online, Algerian coach Amrouche is experienced in African football, having previously managed Kenya, Libya, Burundi, Botswana, and Tanzania.
His appointment comes as bad news for Nigeria as he had faced Nigeria in two of his past jobs with Kenya and Libya and has a point to prove against the Eagles.
He coached Kenya between 2013 and 2014, securing a 1-1 draw against Nigeria during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier, a match where Nigeria was accused of mistreating the Kenyans by making them train on a sandy pitch.
Source: Getty Images
The North African coach also managed Libya and faced Nigeria twice during the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and lost the doubleheader tie 4-0 in Abuja and 3-2 in Libya, leading to his resignation.
However, his abysmal record of two losses and a draw against Nigeria makes it easy on paper that the Eagles will best Rwanda.
Chelle fires warning to players
Legit.ng reported that Eric Chelle warned Super Eagles players to brace up as they begin the chase for the 2026 FIFA World Cup ticket with a match against Rwanda.
Chelle is optimistic that all hope is not lost for the Eagles as they are only four points behind the top of the group, and should they win all games, they will qualify.
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Source: Legit.ng
