It has been confirmed that Nigeria’s Super Eagles’ path to secure a place at the FIFA 2026 World Cup begins in November 2023.
It would be recalled that the African qualification draw for the 2026 World Cup took place in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire on Thursday, July 13, 2023.
Jose Peseiro’s side are drawn in Group C alongside South Africa, Benin Republic, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Lesotho for the World Cup qualifiers.
Notably, the Super Eagles will be engaged in 10 matches to clinch a spot at the FIFA 2026 World Cup to be co-hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico.
The first two matchdays will be between November 13-21. Two other match days will be played between June 3-11, 2024, completesports.com.
The six other rounds of matches in Group C will be played between March and October 2025, while Playoffs will be staged among the four best runners-up between November 10-18, 2025.
Find below the full schedule:
Matchday 1,2 – Nov 13-21 2023
Matchday 3, 4 – June 3-11 2024
Matchday 5,6 – March 17-25 2025
Matchday 7, 8 – September 1-9 2025
Matchday 9,10 – October 6-14 2025
November 10-18 2025 (Playoffs).
Interestingly the qualifying games will be a reunion between the Super Eagles players and their former coach, Gernot Rohr, who is the current handler of Benin Republic.
The German coach led the Eagles to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, where they crashed out in the group stage.
It is on record that the last time the three-time AFCON championships faced South Africa in the World Cup qualifiers was the race to the 1994 edition.
Nigeria and South Africa battled in the first round with the Eagles triumphing 4-0 in Lagos before holding South Africa to a goalless draw in Johannesburg.
Moreover, the Eagles clashed with Zimbabwe and Rwanda in the same qualifying group for the Germany 2026 World Cup.
The Eagles failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after losing to Ghana on goals difference (0-0 in Kumasi and 1-1 in Abuja).
