S’Africa qualify for Mundial
Victor Osimhen was the hero, yesterday, at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, as Nigeria defeated Benin Republic 4-0 to qualify for the African playoff for the 2026 World Cup.
Nigeria needed to beat Benin Republic and hope that Rwanda defeat South Africa in the last Group C games of the African qualifying series of the Mundial billed to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Nigeria won their game, but so did South Africa, which beat Rwanda 3-0 to win the group and the sole ticket to North America. Yesterday’s victory put the Super Eagles in the African playoffs, where they will play against any of Gabon, Cameroon and Burkina Faso next month in Morocco.
The game was barely three minutes old when Osimhen latched on to a Samuel Chukwueze pass to open the floodgate of goals for Nigeria. The Galatasaray forward made it 2-0 in the 37th minute after a well-coordinated team move that left the Beninese defence exposed, extending Nigeria’s advantage and sending fans at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, into wild celebration.
With the fans baying for more blood, Osimhen, who did not stop running in pursuit of more goals, made it three just before half time when he nodded in a Moses Simon free-kick to take the fight out of the Cheetahs of Benin Republic. Second half substitute, Frank Onyeka, cemented Nigeria’s place in the African playoff with a clinical volley off a Simon’s cross late in the game.
In the African qualifying stages, only the group winners qualify directly for next year’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, while the runners-up qualify for a play-off stage.
At the end of the game, Nigeria was thrown into a rankings list of all the group runners-up throughout the continent and the Super Eagles came in third behind Cameroon and Gabon, with Burkina Faso making up the list.
These top four-ranked sides all move into play-off semifinals, with the two winners facing off in a final to decide Africa’s sole representative in a further inter-confederation play-off stage.
The rankings for those semifinals will be made off FIFA ranking, with the highest taking on the lowest, and the second-highest facing the second-lowest.
The inter-confederation play-offs will be conducted in March next year, with six teams from five confederations playing for the final two spots at the World Cup.
