Monday’s FIFA hammer on South Africa has seemingly blown the African Qualifications’ Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers wide open with the docking of three points off the Bafana Bafana offering third-placed Nigeria and other contenders a lifeline. While the ruling revives hope, it also comes with a Herculean task for the Super Eagles who must at least win their upcoming two matches to have any realistic chance of either over-hauling both Benin and South Africa for the automatic ticket for the first team or finish in second place to be able to access the play-off window for the four best losers across the nine qualifying groups. As it was in the old Roman empire and so it’s for the Super Eagles as they face their own ‘ides of October’ in the race for a ticket to the 2026 Mundial, writes TUNDE LIADI…
When FIFA slammed South Africa with a three-point deduction for fielding an ineligible player, Group C of the 2026 FIFA World Cup African qualifiers was suddenly thrown wide open. The sanction, which overturned Bafana Bafana’s 2–0 win over Lesotho into a 3–0 defeat, means Nigeria’s Super Eagles are back in contention.
Nigeria, languishing in third place, now find themselves just three points behind leaders Benin and South Africa, with two games left to play. On paper, FIFA’s helping hand offers renewed hope. Yet it is a herculean task before the Super Eagles if they are desirous of making the World Cup party after missing out at the 2022 edition held in oil-rich Qatar.
In fact, for most football Stakeholders, the Super Eagles must seize chance and gird their loins in the upcoming contests when they play away to Lesotho on October 10th before concluding the race in Uyo on October 14th .
“My concern is not Benin or South Africa but we should watch out for Lesotho and Rwanda behind us,” former Nigeria midfielder Friday Ekpo noted in an interview on a Lagos-based Sports radio station, Brila Fm. “Nigeria not being able to win back-to-back games is a big worry.
“We need to sit back, rethink our strategy and ensure we pick up six points from our remaining fixtures. While we are busy calculating, other teams are simply focused on winning their matches.”
Ekpo’s sentiments were echoed by former Flying Eagles winger Dimeji Lawal who urged for caution rather than celebration of the misfortune that had just befell South Africa in the race to the 2026 Mundial, adding the approach of the Super Eagles in recent times does not inspired any confidence.
“I don’t get excited about the sanction of South Africa. One thing is to get three points taken away from them, another is for us to win our remaining games. That’s the real test,” Lawal said matter-of-factly. “The bottom line is: can we win the last two games?”
Former left-back Ifeanyi Udeze was more direct insisting that the Super Eagles players must be made aware of the essence of what it means to play at the FIFA World Cup while adding that the awareness of this would help the Nigerian team to know how to plan for both games:
“Both games are must-win. The players must know their lives depend on it. Even after we win, we still need South Africa to drop points. This is not a time for complacency,” he averred.
Equally, the 1996 Atlanta Olympic football gold medallist , Abiodun Obafemi, was even sterner in his outlook stating that the present crop of players may miss the chance to go to the World Cup if they throw this new lifeline away.
“FIFA has given us a lifeline. If we miss this chance, this generation should forget about the World Cup. Too often, we expect our boys to rise up and they disappoint. This is a lifetime opportunity, and for many of them, it might be their last shot.”
But for erstwhile youth international Taiwo Enegwea who is currently attached as an assistant coach at Heartland Football Club of Owerri, the Super Eagles must not only win their forthcoming two matches but they must win with probably with cricket margins, adding that goal difference could be the decider if all the contending teams cancelled themselves out as being speculated.
“We must do everything humanly possible to win the last two games, especially against Benin. A good win against them may bridge the gap. We must score goals and not just settle for slim wins,” Enegwea noted.
Enegwa’s coaching colleague at Heartland and former U20 goalkeeper, Emeka Amadi, described the sanction against South Africa as a “morale booster” for the Super Eagles, adding they must be on top of the two games to boost their chances of making it to the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be jointly co-hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico.
“It’s good news, but the important thing is to win with good goals. Goals difference may count. We still have a chance but we must take it now,” noted Amadi, a two FIFA U-17 World Cup winner as the goalkeepers’ trainer to the Golden Eaglets class of 2013 and 2015.
Additionally, George Aluo, a board member of the NFF agreed that three points taken off South Africa should be morale booster for the Super Eagles to fight to the finishing point.
“The decision by FIFA has thrown the group wide open,” Aluo who doubles as the Chairman of the Nigeria national League (NNL), told NationSport, adding the Amavubi of Rwanda who are currently in fourth position can be regarded as the dark horses in the race for the Group C ticket. “ Now , it is possible for Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa to finish on 17 points(at the end of the qualifiers) .
“All eyes will be on what happens between Rwanda and Benin.
“Should Rwanda win that game and we beat Lesotho, then anything, just anything can happen at the end of the race. All the four countries Nigeria, South Africa, Benin and Rwanda are all very much in contention and I know Rwanda will fight to the end against South Africa should they beat Benin at home.”
Despite all the positives indices, Nigerian football historian and diarist, Kunle Solaja, has yet urged the rank and file of the Super Eagles to take lessons from history.
He reckoned that Nigeria’s football history is littered with reminders of the dangers of administrative or technical errors which befell South Africa, warning that attention must also be paid to details as the Super Eagles approach the double header this month.
He noted: “In 1984, Shooting Stars were rocked before the second leg of the CAF Champions Cup final against Zamalek when Felix Owolabi was ruled ineligible due to accumulated yellow cards. Disorganized and demoralized, the Ibadan side lost 2–0 in Cairo and 3–0 on aggregate, missing out on Nigeria’s first Champions Cup title.
“In 2018, during the Russia World Cup qualifiers, FIFA awarded Algeria a 3–0 win after Nigeria fielded Shehu Abdullahi despite his suspension. Though Nigeria had already qualified, the embarrassment highlighted NFF’s administrative lapses.”
He argued with clear warning : discipline and paperwork matter as much as performance on the pitch.
“The Super Eagles now walk a fine line. Twelve players are sitting on yellow cards, including Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Semi Ajayi, Ademola Lookman, and goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Any additional bookings could rule them out of the decisive final match against Benin Republic in Uyo,” he explained.
South Africa’s costly mistake has opened the door, but walking through it depends entirely on Nigeria. The Super Eagles face Lesotho away on October 10 before hosting Benin Republic in Uyo on October 14.
Victory in both matches is non-negotiable. Discipline, tactical sharpness, and ruthless finishing will define whether the lifeline leads to redemption or regret.
As Obafemi bluntly put it: “If we don’t take this chance, forget about the World Cup.”
For Eric Sekou Chelle’s men and the Nigeria Football Federation, the FIFA lifeline is a reminder that fortune only favours the prepared. This time, Nigeria cannot afford to learn the hard way.
