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The Super Eagles’ World Cup hopes revived after Eritrea’s withdrawal.
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Nigeria sit third in Group C with 11 points.
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Their fate now rests on CAF’s ruling.
The Super Eagles found a slim new route to the 2026 FIFA World Cup after Eritrea’s withdrawal left a technical loophole that could affect how runners-up are compared across groups.
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Nigeria still sits behind South Africa and Benin in Group C, but the change in another group may give the team an outside chance of reaching the inter-confederation playoff.
Super Eagles sit third in Group C having amassed 11 points from eight matches.
South Africa comfortably top the group with Benin occupying the second-place.
With two games reportedly left to play, the margin is tight and every result matters for the Super Eagles’ hopes.
The road here began with a stuttering start to qualifying.
Early on in Jose Peseiro’s tenure, there were mixed results, and the Nigeria Football Federation eventually changed leadership to improve performance.
Finidi George briefly managed the side before Éric Sékou Chelle was appointed in January 2025 to steady the ship and chase qualification.
Chelle has since stabilized results, but those painful draws – a 1-1 at home to Zimbabwe and a 1-1 away to South Africa – left the Super Eagles short of the automatic targets.
Several teams in the region have urged FIFA to rule on the eligibility of South Africa’s Teboho Mokoena after an alleged 2023 breach.
If FIFA rules against South Africa, the standings could change.
However, the process continues and the Super Eagles can’t rely on that alone.
Attention has turned to the Eritrea withdrawal and how CAF and FIFA will handle group comparisons.
The ranking of the top runners-up could change if CAF adopts a previous strategy employed when groups were uneven, such as reducing results against the bottom club or otherwise equalising match counts.
Nigeria might move up in the continental runners-up table and secure a path to the inter-confederation playoff.
This remains hypothetical until confederation officials confirm the exact method.
