After what appeared to be a nearly impossible task, an unrealistic endeavour, a tall order and a lost cause with all hope dashed, the Super Eagles produced a dominant, impressive and spectacular performance to revive their dream of playing at next summer’s World Cup finals.
They trounced the Republic of Benin — managed by former Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr — four-nil in their final Group C match on Tuesday night. The resounding victory was not enough to earn them an automatic ticket in the finals but it secured them a place in the play-offs.
The Super Eagles finished second in the group behind South Africa, who topped the group to secure automatic qualification for the World Cup next year in North America. South Africa beat Rwanda 3-0 in Mbombela to finish a point clear at the top to play in their second ever World Cup and first since hosting the event in 2010.
A fourth goal in stoppage time from Brentford midfielder Frank Onyeka after Victor Osimhen’s brilliant hat-trick proved pivotal as it helped Eric Chelle seal a spot as one of the four best runners-up in the African qualifying series, edging out Burkina Faso from Group A on goal difference after the two sides finished with the same points.
Those four best runners-up will now enter a play-off to determine who will be CAF’s only representative at the expanded inter-confederation World Cup play-offs in March 2026 in Mexico.
Alongside Nigeria, which was absent at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Gabon reached the play-offs as the best of the rest after finishing second behind the Ivory Coast in Group F. They beat Burundi 2-0 at home in their final qualifier, but their rivals, the Ivory Coast, brushed aside Kenya to take top spot.
Also in the DR Congo, who were runners-up to Senegal in Group B, edging past Sudan in their final game but seeing the leaders rout Mauritania 4-0.
The trio are joined by Cameroon, who finished second in Group D ahead of Libya after a pair of final goalless draws for the duo and behind Cape Verde, who over the weekend became the second-smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup – behind only Iceland – after beating Eswatini 3-0.
The fixtures for the CAF play-offs are determined by FIFA’s world rankings. The highest-ranked team plays the lowest-ranked team, and the second-highest-ranked team plays the second-lowest-ranked team. The next update of the ranking is on October 23,
According to ESPN, the latest update of the ranking order released on September 18, will be used to determine the play-off draw, Nigeria is the current highest-ranked team of the four at 45, while Gabon are the lowest at 79.
That means the two teams will slug it out with each other in a one-legged play-off semi-final tie to take place on neutral ground in Morocco on November 13.
Meanwhile, Cameroon, currently ranked at 52nd in the world, will square off with the DR Congo, who ranked 60th, in the other one-legged semi-final showdown in Morocco on the same date.
The winners of those two matches will then play each other in the final – also in Morocco – on November 16, with the winners of that match advancing through to the inter-confederation play-offs in Mexico in March.
Gabon, who are gunning for their first World Cup appearance, would be bolstered by the return of captain and talisman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who missed the Burundi clash as he was suspended for the match after his red card for two bookable infractions that followed a four-goal haul against The Gambia in Nairobi last week.
Burkina Faso, Niger, Madagascar, Uganda and Namibia were the five group runners-up who did not make the CAF play-offs, with Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Cape Verde, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Tunisia and Ghana all qualifying directly for the World Cup finals as group winners.