By Kayode John
Interim coach of the Super Eagles, Augustine Eguavoen, has berated Egyptian referee, Mohamed Eid Mansour, for disallowing a legitimate goal scored by his team in their 0-0 draw against the Amavubi of Rwanda in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Kigali on Tuesday.
In-form Ademola Lookman, who struck twice in the 3-0 victory over Benin Republic on Saturday, thought he had put the Eagles in the lead after 22 minutes in Tuesday’s encounter, but Mansour ruled it out for an offside after he had initially signaled what looked like an infringement by Semi Ajayi in the build’up to the goal.
If the goal had stood, it could have potentially handed the three-time champions a perfect start in their race to reach Morocco next year.
“It was an impressive performance by all standards. We came for all three points, but unfortunately, we didn’t get it. We created chances that we could have buried,” Eguavoen said in his post-match interview.
“We scored a goal, everyone in the stadium knew it was a goal, only one person thought otherwise – the referee. Quite unfortunate.
“It wasn’t a bad a result at all. Defensively, they were tight, and their goalkeeper was the man of the match. They were lucky today, and we were a bit unlucky.”
Even with the draw, the Super Eagles are on top of their qualifying group with four points, with Benin Republic second one point behind.
Rwanda are third with two points and Libya bring up the rear with no points.
The top two teams will head to the tournament in Morocco, scheduled for December 2025 to January 2026.
