The Super Eagles of Nigeria have been drawn to battle South Africa, Benin, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Lesotho in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.
The teams were paired “Group C” during the preliminary draws held organized by Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, on Thursday.
This draw sets the stage for a renewed rivalry between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
According, to THE CABLE, the two nations have faced each other 14 times previously. The Super Eagles have emerged victorious in seven encounters and secured two draws against their South African counterparts.
The last time these two teams clashed in a World Cup qualification round was ahead of the 2010 edition.
Despite Nigeria’s triumph in both legs, South Africa managed to qualify for the tournament as the host nation.
GOOD EVENING NIGERIA recall that Super Eagles missed out on the 2022 Qatar World Cup after losing on away goals to Ghana.
The Sorting and Calender
According to FIFA, the 54 CAF nations were divided into six pots and subsequently drawn into nine groups, each comprising six teams.
These groups will engage in home-and-away round-robin matches, with the group winners earning direct qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The four best group runners-up will enter playoffs to determine the CAF representative in the inter-confederation play-offs.
The qualification matches, including the playoffs, are scheduled to take place from November 3, 2023, until November 18, 2025.
The World Cup will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, and is set to take place from June 11, 2026, to July 19, 2026.
FULL DRAW
Group A
Egypt, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Djibouti
Group B
Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo, Mauritania, Sudan and Southern Sudan
Group C
Nigeria, South Africa, Benin Republic, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Lesotho
Group D
Cameroon, Cape Verde, Angola, Libya, Eswatini and Mauritius
Group E
Morroco, Zambia, Tanzania, Congo Brazzaville, Niger and Eritrea.
Group F
Ivory Coast, Gabon, Kenya, The Gambia, Burundi, Seychelles
Group G
Algeria, Guinea, Uganda, Mozambique, Botswana, Somalia
Group H
Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea, Namibia, Malawi, Liberia, Sao Tome e Principe
Group I
Ghana, Mali, Madagascar, the Central African Republic, Comoros and Chad.