By VICTOR OKOYE

Victor Osimhen and Bruno Onyemaechi were among early birds on Sunday night as the Super Eagles? camp started to bubble ahead of a crucial World Cup qualifying duel with Rwanda.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Amavubis of Rwanda will host the Super Eagles at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali on Friday from 5 p.m.

NAN reports that ahead of the potential blockbuster encounter, the Super Eagles? camp at the Radisson Blu hotel in Kigali have started to swell with the arrival of Osimhen, Onyemaechi and four other players.

Promise Efoghe, Super Eagles? Media Officer told NAN that the number of players in camp had as at Monday morning risen to six.

He added that Eric Chelle, the new coach who will be having his first stint with the team, had also arrived at the camp with the full complement of his crew and backroom staff on Sunday.

?Also in Chelle?s company were the two home-based players, Kayode Bankole and Papa Daniel Mustapha.

?Osimhen and Onyemaechi were on ground with them.

?The number of players swelled to six early Monday morning with the arrival of Amas Obasogie and Tolu Arokodare,? he said.

NAN also reports that the race towards a place in 2026 FIFA World Cup enters a crucial stage on Monday (today), when the African qualifiers resume across the continent.

The global showpiece will for the first time have a guaranteed nine representatives from Africa and a possible tenth in the newly expanded version.

The 2026 World Cup is set to take place in the U.S., Canada and Mexico between June 11 and July 19, 2026.

With four rounds of matches already played, Match Day five of the qualifiers has lined up some appetising encounters.

The race to a top finish that guarantees qualification is gradually taking shape.

With three draws and a loss to their campaign, the Super Eagles will be looking at securing their first win when they take on table-toppers Rwanda in Group C on Friday.

Rwanda lead Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers with seven points and a better goals difference than South Africa and Benin, who also have seven points.

Nigeria are second from bottom with three points from four matches, with Zimbabwe languishing at the bottom of the six-team log. (NAN)

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