SUPER EAGLES MUST SEIZE THE MOMENT
The sporting authorities should work to ensure Super Eagles victory in the playoffs
Nigeria’s senior men’s football team, the Super Eagles, have completed the 10-match African qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, finishing second behind South Africa. It was an anticlimax for the race which began in November 2023. But it could have been worse. By a stroke of fortune, Nigeria qualified on the last day as one of the four best runners up nations in the nine groups. The other three nations for the playoffs include Gabon, Cameroon, and Democratic Republic of Congo. The reward is a trip to Morocco next month to play in the series with the hope of winning Africa’s ticket to the Intercontinental Playoffs in Mexico where two tickets are available for the World Cup.
For a country of over 220 million citizens who love the game of football, the inability to qualify for the World Cup back-to-back would be an anathema. This is the reason why the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the National Sports Commission (NSC) must work to ensure that the Super Eagles win the African playoffs in Morocco and qualify for the Intercontinental Playoffs in March next year.
However, before focusing on the Intercontinental playoffs, Gabon and the winner of the Cameroon versus D.R. Congo should not be taken for granted. Everything necessary must be put in place to ensure that Super Eagles lack nothing ahead of the trip to Morocco. The players must also realise that this is another opportunity for them to right the wrong of whatever may have happened in the qualifiers. Besides, some of them may not have the opportunities to attend the World Cup in their football careers if they fail with this second chance offered by this playoffs window.
When the draws were done in November 2023, there was excitement in the Nigerian camp that it would be a smooth sail for Super Eagles to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after missing the last edition in Qatar in 2022. The Group C pairings had Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, Benin Republic, Zimbabwe and Lesotho. But when the qualifiers began, it turned out to be another nightmare for Nigeria. The Super Eagles drew their first three matches and lost the fourth to earn a miserable three points from a possible 12! The results were: Nigeria 0-0 Lesotho; Zimbabwe 1-1 Nigeria; Nigeria 1-1 South Africa and Benin Republic 2-1 Nigeria. With Portuguese coach, Jose Peseiro who started the qualifiers out of the way, ex-international, Finidi George took over the mantle, but he didn’t fare any better. The defeat of Super Eagles in Abidjan, the adopted home of the Benin Cheetahs, also forced the former Ajax winger to step down from the job.
With Nigeria in fifth place at the time, there were calls for something urgent to be done to restore the country’s dignity in the qualification series. That was how Franco-Malian Eric Sekou Chelle arrived at the job. He momentarily brought smiles to the faces of Nigerians. The Super Eagles revived their campaigns with first victory in five matches in March this year, defeating Rwanda 2-0 away in Kigali. Hopes of consolidating against Zimbabwe at home in Uyo a week later fell through as the Warriors snatched a late 90th minute equalizer against the Super Eagles.
With FIFA finally sanctioning South Africa by deducting three points and three goals for the use of ineligible Teboho Mokoena, the gap at the top of the table narrowed. Nigeria then had their eyes on winning the two remaining matches with many goals to stand any chance of finishing as Group C winners or runners up. Having achieved the latter, the onus is now on the Super Eagles to win three more matches for Nigeria’s flag to fly at the 2026 World Cup.
