Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen scored a first-half brace to inspire Nigeria's first win in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, inflicting a 2-0 painful home defeat on a stubborn Rwanda side in Kigali.
The Super Eagles' bid for a place at the finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada was in the balance after taking just three points from their first four matches.
Osimhen had been absent through injury from all those games, played across November 2023 and June last year, and had spoken befire the crucial trip to Kigali of how "desperate" he and his team-mates are to reach the tournament.
The pressure was also on new boss Eric Chelle, who is the first non-Nigerian African to take charge of the Super Eagles.
But Osimhen settled any nerves in the 11th minute when he was left unmarked at the back post to guide in Ademola Lookman's free-kick.
And the striker capitalised on hesitant defending before racing clear and dinking past the onrushing keeper to double the lead in first-half injury time.
In the other group game, the Bafana Bafana of South Africa have moved to the summit after overcoming a stubborn Lesotho side 2-0 thanks to second-half strikes from Relebohile Mofokeng and Jayden Adams.
Nigeria move up to fourth in Group C, behind South Africa, Benin and Rwanda, and will host bottom side Zimbabwe in their next match on Tuesday.
