There is still a huge mountain to climb for the Super Eagles of Nigeria to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after the last round of matches in the group phase of the CAF FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Nigeria dismantled the Benin Republic in the final game to join three other nations, the likes of Gabon, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the best runners-up, but there is still much to be done in the next phase of games.
Four nations on the African continent will square off against each other before the best go on to play countries from other continents in a final quest to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be played across three nations: Mexico, Canada, and the United States of America.
This marks the first time the tournament will be hosted across three countries. No nation that still stands a chance of qualifying would want to take its foot off the gear at this time and miss out on such a mouth-watering event. This event holds huge financial benefits for qualifying federations and sentimental values to their fans at large, in terms of the excitement that comes with the viewer’s experience and bragging rights.
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The Super Eagles of Nigeria did manage to convincingly beat the Cheetahs of Benin, but it came as a surprise considering how much the team has underperformed in recent times, and how drilled and organized the Cheetahs of Benin had been throughout the qualifying round, until today, when Galatasaray sensation Victor Osimhen was too hot for their defense to handle.
Osimhen scored a hat-trick in the 3rd, 37th, and 51st minutes of the game while midfielder Frank Onyeka wrapped things up in the 90+1st minute of added time to further add salt to the wounds of the Cheetahs of Benin at the Uyo Township Stadium in Akwa Ibom State.
After the playoffs draws, which was held shortly, the Super Eagles of Nigeria must go through Gabon, beat Cameroon, DR Congo in the final, and also come out best in an Inter-Confederation tournament that would consist of six Nations next year.
At the time of the intercontinental play-offs, if Nigeria is among the top two best-ranked teams in the FIFA World Ranking to participate in that tournament, they would qualify automatically to the final of the Inter-Confederations Cup.
Players like former and current African best Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman must be at their best, while the entire team must come with their A-Game in every match they play going forward. Failure to do so would mean that the fight they fought at the Uyo Township Stadium against the Benin Republic on the 14th of October 2025 would have been for nothing.
