The Super Eagles of Nigeria have been placed in Group C of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers for Africa, where they will lurk horns with Benin Republic currently coached by Nigeria’s former coach Gernot Rohr, Rwanda, Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The Bafana Bafana of South Africa will be Nigeria’s biggest threat in this group, however, the other teams could spring surprises.
Recall that Nigeria failed to qualify for the last World Cup after losing on the away goals rule to the Black Stars of Ghana in the last round of qualifiers.
2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers
In other groups that emerge from today’s draws that took place in Abidjan the capital of Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso and the Pharaohs of Egypt will battle in Group A.
Brothers will be at war in Group B as South Sudan will face Sudan. Remember that South Sudan emerged from Sudan on July 9, 2011, after a bloody civil war that lasted for almost 22 years. Other teams in this group are Togo, Mauritania, Congo DR and current African champions, the Teranga Lions of Senegal.
The first African team to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, a feat they achieved in the 1990 World Cup hosted by Italy, will play in Group D against Mauritius, Eswatini, Libya, Angola and Cape Verde.
The Atlas Lions of Morocco, who became the first African team to reach the semi-finals of a FIFA World Cup in the last edition will battle for a ticket in Group E against Eritrea, Niger Republic, Congo, Tanzania and Zambia.
In Group F, West African trio of Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon and Gambia will battle for supremacy alongside Seychelles, Burundi and Kenya.
Mozambique, Somalia, Uganda, Botswana, Guinea and Algeria will fight to finish in Group G.
Group H will see the Brave Warriors of Namibia, Liberia, Sao Tome and Principe, Malawi, Equatorial Guinea and the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia lurk horns.
Black Stars of Ghana will seek to outshine Chad, Madagascar, Comoros, Central African Republic and Eagles of Mali in Group I.
The winners of each group will qualify automatically for the World Cup while there will be an inter-confederation play-off, which could see a 10th African side qualify for the greatest soccer fiesta in the world. The African qualifiers will hold between November 2023 and October 2025.
The 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by United States of America, Mexico and Canada and is slated for June 11, 2026 to July 19, 2026 and will have 48 participating teams instead of 32.
