Tag: Super Eagles

The Super Eagles have found themselves in a challenging position as they aim for a spot in the FIFA World Cup 2026, facing the grim prospect of missing the tournament for the second consecutive time. With the qualification process nearing its conclusion during the upcoming International break, hope is dwindling among fans and analysts alike, writes MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN

Historically, the Super Eagles have been a dominant force in African football. Their golden era during the 1990s saw them qualify for three consecutive World Cups, showcasing their potential on the international stage. Notable performances include their debut at the 1994 World Cup in the USA, where they narrowly lost to Italy in the second round, and the thrilling matches in France 1998.

However, the trajectory of the team took a downturn after missing the 2006 World Cup, a setback attributed to a lackadaisical approach by the Nigerian Football Federation. The team barely managed to secure their spot for the 2010 tournament in South Africa following  the intervention of a Presidential Task Force.

That was also followed by appearance at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil  where the  coach Stephen Keshi-led side  lost  a dramatic second round match to France no thanks  to their stand-down on sharing of bonuses and allowances. 

In between 2014  and the last Mundial in Russia,  the Super Eagles missed two African Cup of Nations finals  in 2015 (Equatorial Guinea) and 2017(Gabon) until German  trainer  Gernot Rohr  whipped them in line  to pick the  ticket to the Russia 2018 World Cup.

The NFF would soon press their usual self-destruction button   towards the tail end  for the Qatar 2022 Wold Cup campaign  and fired Rohr  weeks to the African Final Qualifying Playoff tie against  the Black Stars of Ghana , who edged  the Super Eagles to the ticket on the away-goals rule.

The current qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup has been nothing short of disastrous. Frequent changes in coaching staff have unsettled the squad, leading to a poor performance characterized by just three points from the first four matches. Following a difficult draw against South Africa, the team finds itself in a challenging position, currently ranking third in Group C, and requiring significant victories in their remaining matches.

Coach Eric Sekou Chelle remains hopeful, insisting that the Super Eagles can still qualify, but the path ahead is fraught with obstacles. Their chances depend not just on winning their remaining matches against Lesotho and Benin, but also on the outcomes of other teams in the group—most notably South Africa and Benin.

“To draw with South Africa in South Africa is a good result, but we wanted to win, so we’re a bit disappointed tonight,” Chelle said after Tuesday’s 1-1 draw way to table leader, South Africa. “My players are professionals, and I know they will still want to win the remaining two games. A lot can happen over the next one month.”

Indeed, Rohr who led Nigeria to her last Mundial at Russia 2018, hinted that the Super Eagles could be making a wild goose chase as far as the ticket for the ticket for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is concerned, adding  the Chelle-led side  virtually lost the plot with Tuesday’s draw in Bloemfontein.

“We are happy about this great victory (over Lesotho)  and we  are eagerly awaiting FIFA’s decision to take three points away from South Africa and give it to Lesotho because that is the rule,”  the erstwhile Super Eagles’ manager told NationSport even as he rued  Nigeria’s draw away to South Africa.

 “Of course, I predicted a win for Nigeria against South Africa  but they got a draw , so they have a very small chance to qualify  because there’s still  hope for second-placed teams across the groups,” he said, reinforcing  how difficulty October could be for the Super Eagles . “But it can be difficult for Nigeria because they would need more points; I feel pity for my former players that they might not be going to the next World Cup.”

To make matters worse, the new qualification format introduced by FIFA has complicated the chances of a successful campaign. Africa is set to have nine direct slots for the World Cup, with additional opportunities for the best runners-up through play-offs—a process that constrains Nigeria’s chances even further, given their current position.

As the team prepares for the final matches in October, the echoes of past glories seem distant, and the spectre of missing out on the 2026 World Cup looms large. With several other African teams positioned better in their respective groups, the Super Eagles will need not only to rely on their own performances but also on the misfortunes of their rivals.

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Currently, Burkina Faso  is second  with 15 points in Group A behind Egypt (20points); In Group B Democratic Republic of Congo sits on 16 points behind Senegal (18 points) ; in Group D, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon are second with 15 points behind Cape Verde (19).

Elsewhere in Group E, Gabon are second on 19 points behind Cote d’Ivoire (20); Algeria leads Group F with 19 points  and followed closely by Uganda with 15 points and even in Group H, Namibia are on 15 points behind already qualified Tunisia (22 points).

The stakes couldn’t be higher, and the Super Eagles’ fate now hinges on a mixture of determination, skill, and perhaps a bit of luck as they aim to revive their fortunes and make their mark on the global stage once again.

“ It is a shame that the Super Eagles have found themselves on this route and it would be a bigger shame if Nigeria fail to make it to the 2026 FIFA World Cup  at a time almost 10 African teams would be in attendance,” a local commentator said during the week.

The coming weeks will be crucial; for Nigerian football fans, the hope remains that their beloved team can defy the odds and claw their way back into contention for the World Cup.

GROUP C:  STANDINGS

                                P             W           D             L              GF          GA          GD          PTS

South Africa           8              5              2              1              14           6              8              17

Benin                     8              4              2              2              11           7              4              14          

Nigeria                  8              2              5              1              9              7              2              11          

Rwanda                8              3              2              3              5              5              0              11          

Lesotho                 8              1              3              4              4              11           -7            6             

Zimbabwe              8              0              4              4              5              11           -6            4

GROUP C:  REMAINING MATCHES IN OCTOBER

Lesotho                v              Nigeria

Zimbabwe           v              South Africa

Rwanda                v              Benin

South Africa       v              Rwanda

Lesotho                v              Zimbabwe

Nigeria                 v              Benin

Super Eagles hopes of direct qualification to the 2026 FIFA World Cup has suffered after  they were held 1-1 in a Group C qualifier played at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.

 The result sees Bafana Bafana six points clear of the Super Eagles at the top of the log, and in pole position to secure a return to the global tournament when the final two rounds of qualifiers are played next month.

Nigeria suffered an early injury blow, with Ola Aina making way for Bright Osayi-Samuel in just the 10^th  minute.

South Africa looked the more fluent and dangerous team in the first half hour, with wingers Mohau Nkota and Oswin Appollis troubling Nigeria’s defence with their willingness to run in behind.

And Nkota forced the opening goal in the 25^th  minute, running onto a fine through ball from Bathusi Aubass before firing in a low cross from the right which was turned into his own net by Nigeria defender William Troost-Ekong.

The Super Eagles grew as an attacking force and drew level at 1-1 in the 44^th  minute, with Calvin Bassey bundling home a close-range effort after Fisayo Dele-Bashiru’s cross from the right by-line.

Nigeria made a double change at the start of the second half, throwing on Bruno Onyemaechi and Tolu Arokodare – with the latter quickly making an impact and almost putting the visitors ahead in the 50^th  minute with an effort that flashed across the face of goal.

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South Africa were not far away from reclaiming the lead in spectacular fashion midway through the second half, with defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi driving forward and attempting to catch Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali off his line, but the ball sailed just over the target.

As the clock wound down, Nigeria appeared to tire, while Bafana Bafana had more energy to pin play in the visitors’ half thanks to the fresh legs of Thalente Mbatha and Kamogelo Sebelebele – ultimately the match closed out at 1-1.

The teams will conclude their Group C campaigns in October, with South Africa facing Zimbabwe (away) and Rwanda (home), while Nigeria will tackle Lesotho (away) and Benin (home).

GROUP C STANDINGS

  P         W        D         L          GF       GA      GD      PTS

South Africa  8          5          2          1          14        6          8          17

Benin             8          4          2          2          11        7          4          14       

Nigeria           8          2          5          1          9          7          2          11       

Rwanda         8          3          2          3          5          5          0          11       

Lesotho          8          1          3          4          4          11        -7         6         

Zimbabwe     8          0          4          4          5          11        -6         4

Super Eagles’ Remaining Matches

Oct.6^th : Lesotho vs. Nigeria

Oct.13^th: Nigeria  vs. Benin

Former Super Eagles goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi says he is no longer afraid of Bafana Bafana following the weekend round of Group C fixtures.

The two giants of African football will meet at the Free State Stadium tomorrow at 18:00 in what promises to be a tense match in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Both teams won their last matches against Lesotho and Rwanda, respectively. Tomorrow, Nigeria, currently in third place, will have an opportunity to close the gap between themselves and Group leaders South Africa.

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“I’m not scared; I’m not fully convinced by the way Bafana Bafana beat Lesotho. However, the way Nigeria played against Rwanda has motivated many Nigerians,” Akpeyi said to KickOff.

“Without disrespect, I think it will be tough for Bafana Bafana against Nigeria based on their performance against Lesotho. I’m going to give it to Nigeria.

“Rwanda’s strategy of sitting back and relying on counterattacks made it difficult for Nigeria to secure a win. If it weren’t for Rwanda’s goalkeeper, Fiacre Ntwari, those opportunities could have resulted in goals.

“But knowing Bafana Bafana, they won’t sit back, which will allow Nigeria to exploit the gaps they leave behind.

“Considering the experience and the age of the Nigerian players, I see Nigeria winning this match tomorrow.”

Former Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia, has highlighted key areas of concern in Nigeria’s setup ahead of their crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against South Africa.

Nigeria edged Rwanda 1-0 on Saturday at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, to keep their qualification hopes alive. Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare came off the bench to score the decisive goal that ensured the Super Eagles remain in strong contention for a spot at next year’s tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Speaking to Super Sports, Siasia noted that Nigeria’s strikers, including Victor Osimhen, were starved of quality service from the midfield, while the team’s right flank offered little threat.

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 “Even with Osimhen on the pitch, how many times did he really get the ball? That’s the problem. Nothing is happening from the right side, and I don’t understand the formation being used,” Siasia lamented.

The former international stressed that the Eagles must improve their creativity in the final third if they hope to break down tougher opponents.

 “We need to do much better in creating chances. A clear game plan is vital, whether it’s to get a point or push for a win against South Africa,” he added.

Nigeria tackle  South Africa today in what can be regarded as their toughest test yet  in the qualifiers towards  FIFA World Cup 2026.

Despite without the injured  talismanic striker Victor Osimhen, the Super Eagles will be out to take the three points at stake against South Africa tomorrow, September 9 , even if it’s ‘by an odd goal’ in the words of coach Eric Sekou Chelle, to truly put their 2026 World Cup hope alive.

After an underwhelming campaign in the opening four matches where  they earned a paltry three out of possible 12 points, the Super  Eagles seem to have undergone  some sort of resurgence under new coach, Eric Sekou Chelle as the team collected seven points from their next  three matches including a 1-0 win against Rwanda in Uyo on Saturday. That victory leap-frogged  Nigeria to third position with 10 points behind Benin (11 points) and leaders,  South Africa (16 points) while Rwanda  moved to fourth position on eight points and Lesotho and Zimbabwe  followed suit  on six and four points respectively.

Nigeria sits six points behind South Africa but should they be ducked as being widely envisaged following the use of an ineligible player  (Tebeho Mokoena)  in previous win against Lesotho, then the difference  would just be only three points going into the last  round of matches in October.

As such the MatchDay 8 tie in Bloemfontein would presumably determine the fate of both the Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana.

Yet  Chelle is optimistic that the Super Eagles can ride their luck again even  with a solitary goal as they did on Saturday in Uyo when Tolu’s Arokodare  scored the vital winner that rekindles the country’s aspirations after missing  the last Mundial at Qatar 2022.

“If we win 1-0 in South Africa, we will be happy,” Chelle said at his media briefing after Saturday’s win against Lesotho .“The most important thing is the three points.

“We are happy we beat Rwanda 1-0 because the target was to win the game.

“I am happy that we now have a second game in three days.”

But it’s not going to be that  easy since South Africa could also seal guaranteed qualification to the 2026 World Cup  with a  home win  against  Nigeria in Bloemfontein, though they would need Benin to drop points against Lesotho in Abidjan to run away with the Group C ticket.

Ahead of Tuesday’s cracker South Africa’s Belgian coach Hugo Broos admitted  it was not yet Uhuru for the Bafana Bafana after their 3-0 win over Lesotho in Bloemfontein.

 “It’s a nice number, on the other side, the only thing that’s important is win the games we’re supposed to win and it was not so easy today,” Broos reportedly  told SABC Sport.

 “It was a very nervous game, you know what happened before. We did what we had to do and make beautiful goals.

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“We have to go on now, that’s the most important thing. We still haven’t qualified even if we are in a good position but there are still three games.

“We are in a very good position. We have it in the hands and we will try not to give it away and in one hand we will have a very big party.”

While an  away win for Nigeria would propel them right back into contention after a generally ineffective qualifying campaign, a win for South  would propel  the Bafana Bafana  to their first World Cup  since they hosted the Mundial in 2010. 

2026 World Cup (Africa) Sept. 8

Equatorial Guinea v Tunisia

Zambia v Morocco

Mozambique v Botswana

Malawi v Liberia

Madagascar v Chad

Guinea-Bissau v Djibouti

Uganda v Somalia

Guinea v Algeria

Libya v Eswatini

Ghana v Mali

The Super Eagles are not making the mistake of thinking too much about the showdown with South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in Bloemfontein on Tuesday, but are rather focused on their clash with Rwanda’s Amavubi in Uyo on Saturday, according to team captain William Ekong.

 “You take one step at a time. We have Rwanda to play on Saturday, and there are three points there. After that is concluded, then we begin to think of South Africa. There are three points also in there when we play in Bloemfontein, but that is a few days after Rwanda. Rwanda comes first,” Ekong said on Thursday.

Nigeria has not had a campaign to shout about, especially in the first four matches of which she won none, but Ekong says the squad has committed to taking all points in the remaining games, believing that will be good enough to send Nigeria to the 48-nation finals in North America next summer.

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“We will do our very best to go all out and win the remaining four matches. Hopefully, that will be good enough to take us there.”

The encounter with Rwanda, who lost the Matchday 5 that brought both teams at loggerheads in Kigali in March, is a Matchday 7 fixture, while the confrontation with South Africa is a Matchday 8 encounter.

During the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals in France, the Super Eagles were focused on a potential Match-of-the-Tournament clash with Brazil in the quarter-finals, and failed to focus on their Round of 16 tie with Denmark. Following a 4-1 thumping of Nigeria in the game, Denmark’s ace winger Brian Laudrup said at the post-match conference: “Nigeria should learn to count one before four.”

Nigeria’s camp attained full capacity on Wednesday evening, with the arrivals of midfielders Raphael Onyedika and Christantus Uche, and forwards Victor Osimhen, Samuel Chukwueze and Tolu Arokodare. 

The Super Eagles are  in a race against time to resurrect their hope  for one of the  continental tickets to the 2026 FIFA World Cup  when they square up against  the visiting Amavubi of Rwanda in what  is a tough and tricky  encounter  that  would surely  defined the shape of things  in their Group C  qualification section, writes TUNDE LIADI

The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium will be under the radar tomorrow, September 6th, when the Super Eagles lock horns with visiting Amavubi of Rwanda in a high-stake 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

 It is a game with a lot at stake knowing that Nigeria’s chances of playing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup is hanging in the balance.

For the coach Eric Sekou Chelle-led Nigeria, the stakes could not be higher. With just a win from six matches in Group C, the Super Eagles sit fourth on seven points, trailing leaders South Africa  ( who play Lesotho today) by six. Anything short of victory in Uyo would leave Nigeria’s hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup in a mirage.

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 “We just have to win, there are no excuses. It doesn’t matter who scores; we don’t care, we just want to win,” said winger Moses Simon, underlining the urgency in camp.

Chelle is expected to stick with his 4-2-3-1 shape, with Victor Osimhen—who scored twice against Rwanda in March—leading the line. The Galatasaray striker has been responsible for three of Nigeria’s last four qualifying goals and remains the team’s most lethal weapon.

Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali is back after a minor injury scare, while defensive reshuffles are likely. Rising star Benjamin Fredrick has impressed in training and could earn a surprise debut alongside stalwarts Calvin Bassey and Ola Aina.

The midfield puzzle remains Chelle’s biggest headache, with Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Frank Onyeka, and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru vying for spots. On the wings, Samuel Chukwueze—fresh from a move to Fulham—and Moses Simon offer pace and trickery.

On the other end,  Adel Amrouche’s Rwanda come into this clash with quiet confidence. The Amavubi sit third with eight points and know that a result in Uyo could significantly boost their qualification chances.

Their pragmatic 4-2-3-1 setup morphs into a 5-4-1 against stronger sides, focusing on discipline and quick counters. Captain Djihad Bizimana will anchor the midfield, while wide men Kwizera and Mugisha carry the attacking threat.

 “There’s nothing to worry about. We respect them as a big team with big names, but as players, we are really focused on what we are doing in training,” said skipper Djihad Bizimana.

Head-to-Head History

Nigeria have won three of their eight meetings with Rwanda, losing only once. Yet that lone defeat still stings—a 2-1 upset in Uyo last November during AFCON qualifiers. Chelle’s men restored pride with a 2-0 away win earlier this year, courtesy of an Osimhen brace, but Saturday’s clash carries heavier significance.

For Nigeria, failure to win would be catastrophic. A draw would leave them adrift in mid-table, while defeat could all but end their World Cup campaign. Rwanda, on the other hand, will aim to frustrate, defend deep, and snatch a result on the counter—the very blueprint that shocked the Super Eagles last year

 Nigeria’s inconsistency has been alarming, but with Osimhen, Nwabali, and Simon available, Chelle’s side should have enough firepower. Expect Rwanda to sit back and make life difficult, but the Super Eagles’ quality ought to shine through if they strike early.