'No intimidation' - Eguavoen stresses Super Eagles have come to Rwanda to thrill and entertain fans 

Austin Eguavoen has stated that the Super Eagles will not be intimidated by the atmosphere when they take on Rwanda in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualification game tomorrow.

The clash will take place at the Amahoro Stadium, Kigali, which is Rwanda's home ground, and Nigeria is set to be met with an unfriendly atmosphere by the home fans.

Nicknamed Amavubi, tomorrow's game is going to be Rwanda's first home game in the qualification campaign and having managed to secure a draw in their opening fixture, the country's fans will be motivated to cheer their team to victory.

The Super Eagles' last away fixture ended in a defeat, which was the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers played against Benin at Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, the adopted home ground of the defeat.

Eguavoen, who will be seeking back-to-back victories in the encounter, has stated that his team will not be scared off by the fans of the East Africa-based nation.

Speaking in his pre-match conference, the 59-year-old tactician stated: "Intimidation? No, It is football, it is entertainment; we have come here to entertain people and like our captain said, we treat people with respect.

“We are here for one mission which is to try to get something away from here. I think we can do that. Intimidation, no."

He added: "It doesn't matter who we play, they expect us to win. They respect us, we respect them also. We don't look down on people, football has improved. When you joke with it, you can get shocked.

"Remember any country that is playing against Nigeria raise their game so we have to be ready as well."

Eguavoen's mandate as interim coach ends tomorrow as the Nigeria Football Federation are now expected to get a substantive coach for the Super Eagles.

It remains to be seen whether the 1994 AFCON winner will be considered for the position.

 Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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