The Super Eagles head to the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein for this evening’s crunch fixture in Group C, having kept their qualification hopes alive with a hard-fought 1-0 home victory over Rwanda.
New Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare came off the bench at half-time to net the only goal of the game in Uyo on Saturday, keeping Eric Chelle’s side third behind South Africa and Benin, who had defeated Lesotho and Zimbabwe respectively on Friday.
Nigeria now sit six points behind Bafana Bafana and one adrift of Benin, with one automatic qualification spot on offer for next summer’s tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States, and the four best runners-up from the nine groups in African qualifying advancing into the play-offs.
The Super Eagles – who did not qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar – still have to travel to Lesotho and host Benin in their final pair of qualifiers in October, while South Africa are still waiting to learn if they will receive any punishment for fielding an ineligible player against Lesotho in March.
Nigeria’s win over Rwanda, while certainly important, was overshadowed by an injury to their talismanic striker Osimhen, who led the hosts’ attack at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium but suffered a lower-leg injury after colliding with an opponent during the first half and initially tried to play through the issue, only to be replaced 10 minutes before the break by former Rangers frontman Cyriel Dessers.
It was a massive concern to see Osimhen depart, though he appeared to watch the rest of the game from the bench.
“I have to also discuss with the team doctors to see whether he will be available for the game.”
Will Victor Osimhen play for Nigeria against South Africa?
He said: “Osimhen is a big star, a very good player. Like I said, I have a strong squad too, with great players on my side. They are enough for me.
“I will tell you something, they want to play a great game here once again, so we don’t have the time to say Victor is not here or maybe we cried in our rooms after his injury.
“We are together. We think about our brother [Osimhen], but we have a game, and we are united for tomorrow.”
With Osimhen ruled out for Nigeria, it remains to be seen who gets the nod in attack. Dessers was the replacement against Rwanda, though Arokodare made an impact off the bench and has scored in each of his last two games for the national team.
Meanwhile, Galatasaray will be desperate for Osimhen to return to full fitness ahead of their opening Champions League match in Germany against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday, September 18.
