Nigeria have qualified for Africa’s playoff round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals.
Beating Benin Republic 4-0 in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, on Tuesday meant that the Super Eagles finished fourth on the mini-league, which determined the best four losers to feature in the continental playoffs.
In the log for the best losers, Gabon topped, followed by DR Congo, Cameroon and Nigeria.
In one of the last fixtures of Matchday 10 on Tuesday, DR Congo beat Sudan by a lone goal in their last Group B match, and climbed to second on the log, resulting in Cameroon and Nigeria dropping from their initial spots to third and fourth respectively. That denied Burkina Faso, who were at No. 4 before the DR Congo game, their passage through the playoffs.
The African playoffs are scheduled for next month in Morocco, one of the co-hosts of the 2030 FIFA World Cup finals, with the semifinals and the final.
In a circular to all member associations of CAF, Director of Competitions and Events, Samson Adamu said that the semifinals will be played on 13 November 2025, while the final is scheduled for three days after.
The October 2025 FIFA Rankings, which is to be released on 23 October, will determine the seeding for the draw.
The top-ranked team will face the fourth-best, while the second and third-ranked teams will clash in the other semi-final.
The team that emerged from the mini-tournament will represent Africa in the intercontinental play-offs involving opponents from Asia, South America, Oceania and CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) for a spot at the global showpiece.
It will be the last and most decisive step in Africa’s bid to send a 10th representative to the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals.
On Tuesday in Uyo, Nigeria’s goals came in the 3rd and 21st minutes with each assisted by Samuel Chukwueze, while he scored his third in the 51st minute, assisted by Simon Moses.
Moses again provided his second assist for Frank Onyeka for the fourth goal.
South Africa beat Rwanda 3-0 to win the group and join Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana and Cape Verde as Africa’s representatives in the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals to be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
