Super Eagles in World Cup 2026 Dress Rehearsal with Iran 

Duro Ikhazuagbe 

As Super Eagles lineup against Iran this afternoon in a preparatory friendly fire in Antalya, Turkey, memories of how Nigeria will be absent from the expanded 48-team 2026 World Cup will flash back with mixed feelings.

Many Nigerian fans are still disappointed after it was recently confirmed last week  that the Super Eagles will miss a second consecutive FIFA World Cup.

Both Iran and Jordan, the other team Eagles will play on Tuesday, secured their spots in the Mundial to be hosted by USA, Mexico and Canada in summer. The two countries picked the choice of Super Eagles for the friendlies to gauge their preparations as well as have better ideas of how the nine teams that qualified from Africa play at this level of the game.

Expectedly, there is nothing at stake beyond national pride and a bragging right: Should Super Eagles win, Nigerian ball fans will feel that perhaps, it was a pointer to the fact that the three-time African champions would have gone far in the tournament. Alternatively, defeat will be greeted with gears and snide remarks that after all, it was better that we missed the party! Football fans are the most difficult set of people to please. It will not matter that Super Eagles are without the team’s talisman, Victor Osimhen; hard as nail central defender, Calvin Bassey is down with back injury; dependable defender, Ola Aina, is out while Nigeria’s Number 1 goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali was left out because he has been inactive since returning from the AFCON 2025 with quit notice to his South African side, Chippa United. Nigerian fans expect Super Eagles to win every match they play!

This is why many Nigerian fans are still disappointed after it was recently confirmed that the Super Eagles will miss a second consecutive World Cup.

FIFA recently dismissed Nigeria’s appeal following their playoff loss to DR Congo, meaning the three-time African champions must wait until 2030 for another shot at the global stage. 

Iran on the other hand are also going to be without star player, Saeid Ezatolahi, due to a minor injury. Also, another star forward, Sardar Azmoun, remains unavailable due to ongoing friction with the country’s leadership. However, the rest of the regular squad is fit and available.

Apart from these missing players, Iran faces a much graver situation due to geopolitical instability. Ongoing conflict has cast a shadow over Team Melli’s World Cup participation. In fact, U.S. President Donald Trump, has publicly stated that he cannot guarantee the safety of the Iranian team should they attend the tournament. It is against this backdrop that today’s clash with Nigeria may not have the expected fire.

On the pitch, Iran’s recent form has been mixed, with two wins and three losses in their last five games—though two of those defeats came after the regulation 90 minutes.

Their most recent outing was a goalless draw against Uzbekistan, which they eventually lost on penalties.

The Super Eagles, on the other hand, enter this match in fine form, having won four of their last five matches. Their only defeat in that period was the above mentioned shootout loss to Morocco.

In fact, Nigeria has not lost a game in regulation time since an AFCON 2025 preparatory match against Egypt last December.

Nigeria and Iran have very little history together, as they have only met twice. The first meeting was in 1998 in a friendly game. Then, it was a strike from Ahmed Garba that gave Nigeria a slim 1-0 win.

Both teams would later meet at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. But Team Melli held their own against a talented Super Eagles team, as they played out a goalless draw. This will be just their third meeting.