Ahead of Nigeria’s crucial 2026 World Cup qualifying double-header against Rwanda and Zimbabwe, a number of players called up to the Super Eagles made their mark while playing club football over the weekend.
Here, we take a look at how a number of them fared.
Moses Simon
The Nantes winger proved his worth once again, providing the assist for the decisive goal in the 1-0 win over Lille LOSC – a result that sees Nantes go up to 13th in Ligue 1 and seven points clear of the relegation zone heading into the international break.
Victor Boniface
Boniface made a strong case to regain a starting shirt at Bayer Leverkusen after his shot on target drew the Bundesliga champions level at VfB Stuttgart in a seven-goal thriller which ended 4-3 in favour of the Nigerian striker’s club.
The 24-year-old came off the bench for Alejandro Grimaldo just before the hour mark, before seeing his effort go into goal via Stuttgart player Angelo Stiller. Strike partner, Patrik Schick would grab the winner for Leverkusen deep into stoppage time of the exciting encounter.
Paul Onuachu
Southampton look set to go down to the Championship after falling 2-1 at home to fellow Premier League strugglers, Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Onuachu scoring the Saints’ consolation goal in the second half.
Victor Osimhen
Osimhen continues to establish himself as a favourite among the Galatasaray faithful after scoring a hat-trick and leaving a penalty for his strike partner, Alvaro Morata, to score in the 4-0 demolition of Antalyaspor in the Super Lig.
His first hat-trick since joining the club takes him to 20 league goals in 22 matches this season, making him the Super Lig’s top scorer.
Ademola Lookman
Africa’s reigning Player of the Year and his Atalanta teammates had no answer for Serie A champions, Inter Milan, who came away from the highly anticipated top-of-the-table clash at the Gewiss Stadium with a 2-0 win.
Lookman was on the field for 83 minutes but failed to make an impact against an efficient Inter side that extended their lead at the top of Serie A to three points over Napoli, with Atalanta now six points off the pace in third place with 58 points.