AFCON: Osimhen completes Eagles squad for Benin, Rwanda ties

On loan, Napoli striker Victor Osimhen arrived at the Super Eagles training camp in Uyo on Thursday for the 2025 AFCON qualifiers against the Benin Republic on Saturday and Rwanda next Tuesday.

The striker, who just penned a one-year loan deal with Turkish giants Galatasaray, was the last player to arrive due to the formalisation of his move to Turkey.

Osimhen’s arrival was confirmed on the Super Eagles social media accounts on Thursday evening with a video of him exchanging pleasantries with officials and teammates before their training session inside the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, the venue of the clash against the Benin Republic.

“See who’s here,” they wrote on Instagram.

Meanwhile, Wazobia FM On-Air personality Onyebuchi Onokola, also known as Buchi Laba, who has been sharing updates about the player’s move, confirmed that he arrived in Uyo on Thursday afternoon, landing in Nigeria via a private jet around 5 a.m.

The 25-year-old is returning to the squad for the first time since the 2023 AFCON in Ivory Coast.

He missed the ill-fated 2026 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and the Benin Republic in June, and his outrage towards former coach Finidi George after those games is still sparking reactions about his return to the team.

Having been without the striker for two training sessions, the head coach of the team, Augustine Eguavoen, had the full complement of the squad on Thursday and for their last training session on Friday (today).

According to the team’s media officer, Promise Efoghe, their last session today will be closed to the media and the fans.

Nigeria will play the Benin Republic, who are led by former Super Eagles coach Genort Rohr, in Uyo on Saturday before travelling to Kigali on Sunday to face Rwanda in the second game of the qualifying series on Tuesday.

Osimhen has been involved in arguably the biggest transfer drama of the 2024/25 summer window, having waited to no avail for a move to Chelsea just as a whopping €30m per-year salary deal to Saudi was also unsuccessful.

He eventually joined Galatasaray on loan without an obligation to buy.

According to Sky Sport Italia, his parent club, Napoli, will not pay Victor Osimhen a penny of his salary during his one-season loan at Galatasaray, while the Turkish club also announced that they’d be paying just €6m from the striker’s €10m-a-year wage.