The Super Eagles will enter the AFCON qualifying phase with three of their top stars out of action

Nigeria’s senior national team will be back in action when they take on Benin and Rwanda respectively in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria will face Benin Republic in Uyo on September 7 before travelling to Rwanda for their second match of the series three days later. The team will be looking to get off to a good start after the disappointment of drawing their first two World Cup qualifying matches, which saw them drop to fifth place in the sixth group of teams.

The team also needs to bounce back from the defeat suffered in the last international break, where they fell 1-2 to Benin, the same team they will open their campaign against.

Looking ahead to the match, not everything is going well with the team’s three big stars at club level, so they have had little playing time. However, they are on the list of players who played in both games.

Captain William Troost-Ekong last played three weeks ago and his move to newly promoted Saudi side Al Khaloood took longer to come together than many had expected.

The team’s top striker has not played a game since the start of pre-season and also missed Napoli’s squad for their Serie A opener as the row over his future continues due to his desire to leave the team.

Ademola Lookman did not feature for Atalanta over the weekend in their opening Serie A game after submitting a transfer request with interest from PSG. Although talks have cooled, it is reported that manager Gian Piero Gasperini will leave him out of the team until the end of the transfer window.

The aforementioned cases, added to the fact that the team has been without a coach since the departure of Finidi George two months ago, mean that they are going into the match in the worst state one can imagine before a key game.