Nigeria team plane forced to make emergency landing after windscreen cracks in mid-air | OneFootball

Problem occurred as the Super Eagles were travelling back from World Cup qualifier against Lesotho in South Africa

A plane carrying the Nigeria men’s national football team was forced to make a quick emergency landing on Saturday due to a scary issue that occurred shortly after take-off.

The Super Eagles squad were returning home from Polokwane in South Africa, where they beat Lesotho 2-1 in their penultimate 2026 World Cup qualifier at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Friday.

But their aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in the Angolan capital of Luanda after only 25 minutes after its windscreen cracked heavily in mid-air.

Everyone on board the plane was safe and the team later boarded an alternative aircraft to take them on to Uyo, where they host Group C leaders Benin in a crunch clash at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on Tuesday evening.

“The Super Eagles 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,” the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) wrote on X.

“Now to get one over Benin! Yes. We can.”

An earlier official statement from the NFF read: “After a routine refueling stop in Luanda, Angola (where the plane also stopped to refuel on Thursday night, and where the same plane had stopped to refuel to and from Bloemfontein in South Africa for the Matchday 8 encounter between the Super Eagles and the Bafana Bafana last month), the aircraft suffered a cracked windscreen mid-air after take-off, and the pilot did well to guide the airplane safely back to the airport in Luanda.

“ValueJet Airline and the relevant Federal Government of Nigeria authorities including the Hon. Minister of Aviation, the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Chief of Staff to Mr. President are working assiduously to get the necessary overflying and landing permits for another aircraft to fly from Lagos, pick the delegation in Luanda and fly them to Uyo.”

Nigeria are coached by Eric Chelle and captained by former Watford defender William Troost-Ekong, with Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen the most high-profile member of a squad that also includes the likes of Fulham trio Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze, Brentford midfielder Frank Onyeka, Wolves forward Tolu Arokodare, Birmingham’s Bright Osayi-Samuel and Hull centre-back Semi Ajayi.

Galatasaray wrote on X on Saturday night: “The plane carrying the Nigerian National Team made an emergency landing at the airport in Luanda, Angola, shortly after takeoff due to a crack in the windshield.

“We extend our best wishes to the delegation, which includes our footballer Victor Osimhen.”

Nigeria need to beat a Benin side managed by their former boss Gernot Rohr on Tuesday to have hope of sealing top spot in a wide-open Group C and advance directly through to next summer’s World Cup finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States, having missed out on the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

The Super Eagles currently sit third in the group after beating Lesotho, three points behind Benin and one adrift of South Africa, who recently saw their own win over Lesotho back in March forfeited by FIFA as punishment for fielding an ineligible player in the suspended Teboho Mokoena.

Bafana Bafana drew 0-0 with Zimbabwe in Durban on Friday, while Benin’s narrow 1-0 win in Kigali ended Rwanda’s hopes of qualification with only one round of matches left.

Only the nine group winners in CAF qualifying advance automatically to the World Cup finals, with the four best runners-up entered into a play-off to determine who will be the sole African representative in the wider inter-confederation play-offs that take place in March.