The permutation continues this evening as the Super Eagles battle Zimbabwe in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, for Group C’s sole ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Indeed, the focus of many Nigerians will be on Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire the adopted home ground of Cheetahs of the Republic Benin.
Even if the Super Eagles win today’s game, as well as, the remaining four matches, it may still not be enough for the team to pick the lone ticket. The Super Eagles will still need the Cheetahs of Republic Benin and the Amavubi of Rwanda to take points off the Bafana Bafana of South Africa that can still qualify if it loses only one of its remaining five matches.
Coach Eric Chelle and his team started well with the victory in Kigali last Friday, as anything short of that would have all but killed Nigeria’s hopes of staging a comeback to the 2026 Mundial.
This evening, Nigerians will be praying and hoping that former Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, will do them a favour by either beating the Bafana Bafana or drawing against them in Abidjan.
The Cheetahs drew 2-2 with Zimbabwe last Thursday to hit eight points, two above the Super Eagles. They feel that they are still in contention for their first—ever FIFA World Cup ticket, and rightly so as it would come to pass if they win their remaining five games, including today’s clash against South Africa.
Victory against South Africa will take the Benin Republic team to the top of the group with 11 points while Nigeria will move to nine points if the Super Eagles beat the Warriors of Zimbabwe in Uyo.
If the Amavubi of Rwanda beat Lesotho in Kigali, they will also move to 10 points, and joint second with South Africa.
If this is the scenario after today’s round of matches, the Super Eagles will firmly have their destiny in their hands as they will only need to win their remaining four games, including the potentially decisive game against South Africa in Johannesburg in September to qualify.
The Warriors of Zimbabwe, who arrived in Uyo three days ago, had their last training session at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium at 5.00 pm, yesterday, while the Super Eagles had their turn at 6.00 p.m.
Loking ahead to a favourable game today, team captain, William Troost-Ekong, yesterday, reiterated that the three-time African champions will seek to control the game the way they did the encounter with Rwanda in Kigali on Friday, and then work hard to get the goals that will give them the three points and fully establish them as one of the contenders for the ticket.
“We are looking forward to a win. The three points are important to us. At this stage, we cannot afford to drop any more points. We aim to take it one match at a time, collect three points here and there, and hope fervently that these will be enough to get us the ticket,” he said.
The Warriors’ 45-man contingent, led by the ZIFA Vice President, Kennedy Ndebele, landed at the Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo on Friday afternoon, 85 minutes after the arrival of the Super Eagles’ contingent from Kigali.
World football governing body, FIFA, has appointed Eritrean official Teklu Mogos Tsegay as referee, with his compatriots as assistant referee 1, assistant referee 2 and fourth official. Ghana’s Prosper Harrison Addo will be the commissioner, while Paulin Ilboudo from Burkina Faso will serve as referee assessor.