Bayer Leverkusen and Nigeria striker, Victor Boniface is set to miss “a few games” after returning from international duty with a leg injury, coach Xabi Alonso said Friday.

“He’s got a small injury in his thigh muscle, it’s a shame,” Alonso told reporters ahead of Saturday’s home clash with Heidenheim.

Nigerian media reported Boniface could miss the remainder of 2024 but Alonso was optimistic the striker would be back soon.

“He won’t be there tomorrow or against Salzburg (Champions League).

“We hope he will play again this year. We have to wait and see, but it’s not going to be six or eight weeks.”

Forward Patrik Schick, who has started just twice in the league this season, is expected to step up in the Nigerian’s absence.

“He is always ready — we don’t just need him now, but always.”

The defending champions, who did not lose a game in Germany last year on the way to an unbeaten league and cup double, have stuttered this season.

Leverkusen are currently in fourth, nine points behind league leaders Bayern Munich. Alonso’s men have dropped 13 points so far this season, one more than the 12 they leaked in the entirety of the last campaign.

Boniface is Leverkusen’s highest scorer in the league, with six goals and an assist in 10 games.

Italian Serie A side Genoa FC has revealed the hiring of Patrick Vieira, a former Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder, as their new head coach.

The club made this announcement in a statement published on its website on Wednesday, titled “Press Release – Vieira Appointed New Head Coach.”

The statement read, “Genoa CFC announces that Patrick Vieira has been appointed as the head coach of the first team. The new coach will oversee his first training session this afternoon, following the formalisation of his contract at the Villa Rostan Headquarters.”

Vieira, a former French defensive midfielder, was an integral part of Arsenal’s legendary ‘Invincibles’ team that secured the club’s third Premier League championship. He shared the field with fellow French players Thierry Henry and Robert Pires, among others. Additionally, Vieira was a member of the French squad that won the FIFA World Cup in 1998.

The statement continued, “With a professional journey that included a role as Executive Development Football at Manchester City’s Academy from 2011 to 2015, Vieira has also managed teams such as New York City, Nice, Crystal Palace, and Strasbourg. Welcome, coach!”

The announcement follows Genoa’s decision to part ways with their previous head coach, 42-year-old Alberto Gilardino, due to an underwhelming start to the Serie A campaign.

“Genoa CFC announces that Alberto Gilardino has been relieved of his duties,” the club confirmed on Tuesday.

Gilardino, who won the World Cup with Italy in 2006, assumed the role of Genoa’s head coach in December 2022 following his tenure with the club’s Under-19 team. Under his leadership, Genoa secured automatic promotion to Serie A in 2023 and finished 11th in the league last season.

Currently, however, the team is struggling, occupying 17th place in Serie A with only two victories in 12 games, just a single point clear of the relegation zone.

The Super Eagles ended their campaign in the 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers with a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Rwanda on Monday.

Nigeria, having already qualified for the tournament in Morocco, went ahead through Samuel Chukwueze who scored a lovely goal in the 59th minute.

The AC Milan attacker who replaced the misfiring Kelechi Iheanacho gave Nigeria the lead after a brilliant solo run into the visitor’s box before firing the ball into the net.

Rwanda, however, shocked everyone and even themselves as they came from one goal down to defeat the Super Eagles 2-1 at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

The visitors got their equaliser in the 72nd minute with Ange Mutsinz’s header from a freekick beating Maduka Okoye who was keeping goal for Nigeria for the first time in almost three years.

Rwanda who knew they needed a win to give them any hope of qualifying for the 2025 AFCON scored again through Nshuti Innocent who fired a shot into the Eagles net to give them the lead which they maintained till the game ended for a shock victory.

With interim head coach, Augustine Eguavoen suffering his first defeat in the 2025 AFCON qualification series, Complete Sports, hereby takes a look at how the Super Eagles players rated against Rwanda…

Maduka Okoye 4/10: Udinese goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye’s first appearance for the Super Eagles in almost three years ended in the same manner as his last game for Nigeria.

Before Monday, Okoye last kept goal for Nigeria on January 23, 2022 when the Super Eagles lost 1-0 to Tunisia in a 2021 AFCON second round clash in Cameroon.

He might not have been directly culpable for the two goals Nigeria conceded against Rwanda but then, Okoye did not particularly cover himself in glory.

Bright Osayi-Samuel 5/10: Bright Osayi-Samuel had a decent game and was good with his positioning, helping both in attack and in defence but tdue to the fact that the team was bad in general, his rating has been negatively affected.

Gabriel Osho 4/10: Gabriel Osho made his second start for the Super Eagles and played well in the first half but he needs to really start justifying his invitation to the Super Eagles.

However, his positioning led to the Super Eagles conceding two goals and overall, the Auxerre central defender cannot be rated well from the two games he has played for Nigeria.

William Troost-Ekong 5/10: William Troost Ekong also known as captain fantastic wasn’t that fantastic against Rwanda as he was instrumental to the team conceding two goals in the space of two minutes to lose their one-goal advantage in the second half.

The defender was caught napping for both goals while his partnership with Osho in the heart of the Super Eagles defence also looked shaky.

Bruno Onyemaechi 5/10: Bruno Onyemaechi was very much far away from being a top player against the Amavubi unlike the way he was the best Nigerian star when they drew 1-1 with Benin Republic last Thursday.

His connection with Moses Simon on the left side of the pitch was not felt at all while his crosses also left a bitter taste in the mouth as he failed to create any big chance.

Raphael Onyedika 6/10: Club Brugge of Belgium midfielder, Raphael Onyedika put in the energy in the engine room of the Nigerian national team with his physical presence and strength.

Onyedika who actually replaced Wilfred Ndidi in midfield also provided a good link with the forwards but he did not do much in the attack like he normally does for his club in recent times.

Al-Hassan Yusuf 4/10: Al-Hassan Yusuf who partnered Onyedika in midfield has never been convincing in a Super Eagles’ shirt and that continued in the game against Rwanda.

Yusuf who moved to the MLS during the summer transfer window did not do much in the first half, leading to his substitution at halftime.

Fisayo Dele-Bashiru 5/10: It was an unusually subdued performance from Lazio midfielder, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru whom Nigerian football fans have always expected much from due to the way he introduced himself to them.

He was supposed to be the main outlet from midfield, but he failed to do much for the Super Eagles.

Victor Boniface 4/10: When in heaven’s name will Victor Boniface start shining in the colours of the Super Eagles? That seems to be a million dollar question only Boniface himself can answer.

It is disturbing that the forward is always lion whenever he plays for Bayer Leverkusen but then becomes timid for the Super Eagles which means he must improve for Nigeria, something he did not show any sign of against Rwanda as he was disappointing once again.

Moses Simon 6/10: Moses Simon was at the top of his game and was a threat to the Rwanda defenders, with his slick moves on the flank but he obviously couldn’t do it all alone as most of his teammates failed to come to the party.

Kelechi Iheanacho 4/10: Kelechi Iheanacho had a disappointing game as he failed to justify the reason interim manager, Augustine Eguavoen included him in the starting line-up.

He started for the Super Eagles but he failed to prove himself. He failed to create enough chances, and at times, he seemed to have even slowed down the attack.

SUBSTITUTES

Frank Onyeka 6/10: Frank Onyeka came in as a substitute and was involved in the Super Eagles opening goal, but Nigeria still went on to concede two goals.

Samuel Chukwueze 7/10: The AC Milan attacker who replaced the misfiring Kelechi Iheanacho made an immediate impact as he gave Nigeria the lead after a brilliant solo run into the visitor’s box before firing the ball into the net.

Victor Osimhen 5/10: Victor Osimhen came in to replace Dele-Bashiru after the Super Eagles conceded two goals in the space of two minutes but had limited time to help Nigeria.

Umar Sadiq: The Real Sociedad striker replaced Boniface in the 89th minute when the game had already been won and lost, therefore, he cannot be rated.

Boavista defender, Bruno Onyemaechi has been rated as the most consistent player so far for the Super Eagles in their 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying series that will end on Monday.

Sports media, All Things Super Eagles gave Onyemaechi a very high rating in a post it shared on its official X account on Saturday afternoon while reviewing the Eagles’ 2025 AFCON campaign.

“This man, Bruno Onyemaechi doesn’t get enough praise from Nigerians. For me, he’s been our best and most consistent player so far in this AFCON qualifying series,” All Things Super Eagles wrote.

READ ALSO: https://wavenewsng.com/sports/football/chance-to-win-in-nigeria-is-very-low-admits-rwanda-coach-spittler/

Onyemaechi, meanwhile, would get the highest rating in Nigeria’s defensive line when they drew 1-1 with Benin Republic on Thursday night because of his impact in the left wing for the Eagles.

He kept possession on a certain number of occasions and he created a chance for Nigeria in the first half with a lovely cross in to box of Benin Republic in the first half but Victor Osimhen fumbled.

Osimhen who had the goalkeeper to beat put his header wide in the 40th minute. Such chances are what he regularly puts away at Galatasaray but Onyemaechi was excellent and rock solid in the back line.

Rwanda coach, Frank Spittler has admitted that the chance to win in Nigeria is very low as his side faces the Super Eagles in their final 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier.

Spittler said this at the post-match press conference after Rwanda suffered a shock 1-0 loss to the Mediterranean Knights of Libya in an AFCON qualifier at the Amahoro Stadium, Kigali on Thursday.

Rwanda wasted several scoring opportunities to break the deadlock before Fahd Saad Mohamed came off the substitutes bench to score the game-winning goal in the 84th minute, a truly shocking result.

The defeat leaves Rwanda’s hopes of qualifying for the AFCON for the first time since 2004 almost over as the Wasps are occupying the third position in Group D with five points after five matches.

Rwanda must now defeat Nigeria at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State while relying on Libya to beat Benin Republic in Tripoli to keep their 2025 AFCON hopes alive.

Spittler has admitted that the Wasps are condemned to beat the Super Eagles on Monday but the German football tactician urged his players to give a performance that will be talked about for ages.

READ ALSO: https://wavenewsng.com/sports/football/eguavoen-urged-to-return-to-technical-director-role/

“As long as there is a chance to qualify, we will do everything for it, so for sure, we have to win in Nigeria and that is what we are trying to do,” Spittler told reporters at the post-match presser.

“The chance to win in Nigeria is not very high, but there’s always a chance, and that’s what I tell my players, it’s a big match to play against some of the best players in the world.

“This is what I will tell my players. When you are a grandfather you will talk about this match and it doesn’t really matter then if you are qualifying for Afcon or not, but to try your best, and to show good football.

“We showed it in the last match against Nigeria. We can have a good match against them. 

“It’s always the question of are you scoring or are you not scoring. There are bad days but maybe we have a very nice day in Nigeria.”

Super Eagles interim head coach, Augustine Eguavoen has been urged to return to his role as Technical Director with the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) as soon as possible.

Eguavoen was given this advice by the United Kingdom-based Nigerian sports journalist, Osasu Obayiuwana who believes the former has done quite well with the Super Eagles so far.

The Super Eagles will play their final 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against the Amavubi of Rwanda at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on Monday, November 18, 2024.

The team returned to Nigeria about 24 hours after snatching a 1-1 draw against the coach Gernot Rohr-led Benin Republic at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Thursday.

Already qualified for the AFCON with a solid 11 points from five matches, including three wins and two draws, Obayiuwana has urged Eguavoen to return to his role as the NFF Technical Director.

READ ALSO: https://wavenewsng.com/sports/football/ola-aina-back-in-england-on-forest-request/

“If I were @coacheguavoen, I would say this to @thenff, after the @NGSuperEagles final #AFCON2025 qualifier, against #Rwanda: “I stepped into the breach, to get the team to the AFCON finals.

“Now I have done that, I am going back to my Technical Director’s role, so you can get a substantive coach before the next round of WC qualifiers in March.

“I’m glad to have helped the country in its hour of need. Do I need to spell out why this is the best thing for him to do?,” Obayiuwana concluded.

Eguaveon has, meanwhile, only lost four of the 25 matches he has taken charge of the Super Eagles. His records are: 25 Matches, 16 Wins, 5 Draws and 4 losses.