Nigeria confirm they'll contest October friendly clash with Russia

[p]The fixture will see the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nigeria/EBE2Xb3l/"]Super Eagles[/a] return to the European nation after their previous encounter ended in a 1-1 draw at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium on June 6, 2025.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/russia/hrgrswHh/"]Russia[/a] took the lead in that meeting when Semi Ajayi turned the ball into his own net during the first half. The three-time African kings restored parity in the 71st minute through Tolu Arokodare.[/p][embed guid="356cea54-ae27-4802-a3a3-c0656f324eea" url="https://x.com/NGSuperEagles/status/2097272111291088984" social-type="twitter" /][p]Eric Chelle’s men, currently ranked 26th in the FIFA world rankings, will face the Europeans, who sit 35th, as they continue rebuilding the squad following their failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[/p][p]More importantly, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/nigeria-EBE2Xb3l/russia-hrgrswHh/?mid=rwIxHOt4"]the October game[/a] will form part of Nigeria’s preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign. [/p][p]The Super Eagles will begin their qualification journey against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/madagascar/88OzY9OB/"]Madagascar[/a] at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on September 25. Four days later, they will travel to Bissau to face [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/guinea-bissau/0rJs9H8F/"]Guinea-Bissau[/a]’s Wild Dogs in their second qualifying fixture on September 29.[/p][p]Despite missing out on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Nigeria have recently recorded a 2-2 draw against Poland in Warsaw and a 2-1 defeat to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/portugal/WvJrjFVN/"]Portugal[/a] at Estadio Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa in Leiria.[/p][p]Before those high-profile encounters, the West Africans had retained the Afro-Caribbean Unity Cup in London after defeating [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/zimbabwe/APEVkV8h/"]Zimbabwe[/a] and Jamaica.[/p][image alt="Author" id="679cfec8-0c05-4f49-88ae-d43781264b31" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="133dcc5a-4c35-4ca3-b343-df21e54a2e7b" original-width="1200" original-height="381" /]