Monday (today) will see a flurry of activity in the Super Eagles camp in Uyo as the invited players start to arrive after stellar seasons with their different clubs, ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe.
Before heading to Rwanda for the November 19 match against Zimbabwe, Nigeria will play their first series encounter against Lesotho on Thursday, November 16 at Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.
Last week, the Nigeria Football Federation revealed head coach Jose Peseiro’s 23-man roster for the match, which included Bayer Leverkusen striker Nathan Tella’s first-ever call-up. Victor Osimhen of Napoli, Samuel Chukwueze of AC Milan, and Wilfred Ndidi, a midfielder for Leicester City, were all injured and could not play in the qualifiers.
“Officials of the Super Eagles have already arrived in the Akwa Ibom State capital, with the players expected to start trooping into town on Monday,” the NFF said via a statement released by its head of media Ademola Olajire.
The Super Eagles are playing with confidence, especially the strikers. On Sunday, Leverkusen defeated Union Berlin 4-0, and Taiwo Awoniyi of Nottingham Forest, who has just returned to full fitness, scored in Forest’s 3-2 loss to West Ham in the English Premier League. Tella, a new signing, scored his first goal in the Bundesliga for Leverkusen.
Moses Simon, the forward for Nante, also scored goals on Sunday for his squad.
In the meantime, the NFF also verified that Lesotho will also be entering the nation today, Monday, and will move to Uyo on Tuesday.
“The delegation of Lesotho’s senior men national team, known as Likuena (Crocodiles) for Thursday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup African qualifying series Day 1 encounter with the Super Eagles of Nigeria will arrive in Lagos on Monday night aboard a Kenyan Airways flight.
“Thenff.com can reveal that the delegation will sleep over in Lagos, and then fly into Uyo on Tuesday morning where players and officials will be accommodated at the Ibom Hotel and Resorts,” the NFF said.
Olajire also stated that ahead of the fight on Thursday, Tunisian match officials are anticipated to arrive in Uyo on Tuesday.
Benin, Rwanda, and South Africa are the other teams in Nigeria’s group in the qualification series for the enlarged Mundial in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
