SUPER EAGLES ARRIVE UYO AFTER EMERGENCY LANDING IN ANGOLA OVER CRACKED AIRCRAFT WINDOW

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By: Sefiu Ajape

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have safely arrived in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, after their flight from South Africa was forced to make an emergency landing in Luanda, Angola, on Saturday due to a cracked window, Hotjist reports.

In a statement on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Sunday, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) wrote, “Update: The @NGSuperEagles have finally arrived Uyo after a delay in Luanda, Angola due to issues with the aircraft conveying them back home after the win over Lesotho. Now to get one over Benin! Yes. We can.”

Sports journalist Adepoju Tobi also confirmed the team’s safe arrival, tweeting, “Super Eagles Update: After the delay in Angola, the Super Eagles are back in Uyo, Nigeria. ValueJet Airline sent another aircraft to Angola. Benin Republic and Gernot Rohr MUST fall.”

The players and officials had been stranded in Angola for several hours after the ValueJet aircraft conveying them from South Africa developed a fault midair, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing.

A top NFF official, part of the delegation, described the incident as “a close call that could have been worse,” revealing that the aircraft’s windows had developed a visible crack during the flight.

“The pilot noticed a crack in one of the windows and immediately decided to make an emergency landing. Everyone was tense, but we thank God it didn’t escalate,” the official said.

The Super Eagles were returning from Polokwane, South Africa, where they defeated Lesotho 2–1 in a crucial World Cup qualifying match, thanks to goals from captain William Troost-Ekong and striker Akor Adams.

The win kept Nigeria’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup alive.

Following Saturday’s results, Benin Republic leads Group C with 17 points, while South Africa and Nigeria trail with 15 and 14 points respectively.

The final round of fixtures on Tuesday will decide which of the three nations secures the group’s sole automatic qualification ticket.