Rwanda defeats South Africa 2-0 and gives Nigeria a chance in the top 3. Rwanda surprises the Super Eagles with a historical defeat.
Rwanda gave Nigeria a lifeline yesterday in their attempt to qualify for the World Cup again after they were eliminated in the 2022 competition in Qatar.
After two goalless draws against Lesotho and Zimbabwe last week, the Super Eagles were destined for defeat since a victory in Butare would have given South Africa a four-point advantage over Nigeria in Group C of the African qualification campaign for the Mundial.
However, with South Africa and Benin Republic visiting Nigeria in June of next year, the difference is now only one point as a result of Rwanda’s 2-0 victory against them yesterday.
After defeating Benin Republic 2-1 in their first match on Saturday, South Africa was expected to triumph again against a Rwandan team that had not triumphed at home in more than two years.
Rwanda beating Africa giants
But, the Rwandans, who had not won in six games in all categories, pulled off a historic shock at the Stade Huye, where Zimbabwe held Nigeria to a 1-1 draw on Sunday. They achieved their legendary victory with two well-earned goals in the first half.
It was only South Africa’s second loss in their past eighteen games across all competitions, and the outcome snapped their 11-game winning run.
As of right now, Rwanda is at 140th place in the FIFA World Rankings, whereas South Africa is placed 64th overall.
Innocent Nshuti and Gilbert Mugisha scored the game-winning goals for Rwanda in sixteen minutes.
In the other match of the Group, Lesotho and Benin Republic drew goalless.
Based on the results from yesterday, Rwanda is leading Group C with four points, followed by South Africa in second place with three, Nigeria, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe with two each, and the Benin Republic with one point.
