Benin Republic put Nigeria’s quest for a 2026 World Cup ticket in jeopardy when they defeated the Super Eagles 2-1 in Abidjan in one of the qualifying games for the championship. That defeat in Abidjan pushed the Super Eagles to the fifth position in a group that also has South Africa, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Lesotho.
That defeat a couple of months ago saw to the exit of the team’s then coach, Finidi George, and an inquest that almost tore the unity in the team apart.
Today, the same teams will return to the Houphoet Boigny Stadium, in Abidjan to battle for two different sets of results. While Nigeria needs only a point to qualify for the Morocco 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, the Benin Republic must win this game, and their last match against Libya to have any hope of making it to Morocco.
More important to Nigerians is the erasure of the claim by some pundits that Benin Republic is now at par in football ability with Nigeria because of the manner it won the last encounter in Abidjan. This is because even after the Super Eagles’ 3-0 defeat of the Cheetahs in Uyo, a few months ago, some are not still convinced that the Super Eagles have the armoury to defeat the Benin Republic on neutral ground. So, the opportunity is here for the Super Eagles to prove their case.
Speaking ahead of the game, Super Eagles captain, William Ekong, said the team is prepared to right the wrongs of the World Cup qualifier. “The stadium is a familiar one for us and we have good memories from the AFCON. We will rather focus on the positive results we have taken away from there and work hard for another good day in the office,” he said.
Ekong admitted that it “will not be easy because the Beninoise is also chasing a ticket to the final tournament. However, our objective is clear: three points on the night.”
Ekong said that the fact that the Eagles need just one point to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations will put them to a feisty approach from the first blast of Senegalese referee Issa Sy’s whistle.
After three wins out of their earlier four games (the only draw being the Match Day 2 session with Rwanda in Kigali), the Super Eagles are riding high with 10 points, four more than the second-placed Benin Republic, who suffered a glitch in Kigali in the last round of games. A win virtually guarantees Nigeria’s leadership of the group going into the final-day tussles.
On the other hand, the Cheetahs, with six points, know they cannot afford any more slip-ups following the tumble in Kigali, as they could still be tossed if they lose their last two games and Rwanda, on five, earn a minimum of two points in their own final two. Even Libya, with only one point, can still leap over the Benin Republic if they beat Rwanda in Kigali, the Cheetahs are bumped by the Eagles, and the Knights rout the Cheetahs in North Africa, on Monday.
The foregoing dynamics will make for a vicious 90 minutes at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny in the heart of the Ivorian capital this evening. With England-based centre-back Semi Ajayi absent as a result of injury, Coach Augustine Eguavoen is most likely to start with the rear guard that squared up to the Mediterranean Knights of Libya in Uyo last month, meaning Captain William Ekong and Calvin Bassey at centre-back, with wing-backs Olaoluwa Aina and Bruno Onyemaechi.
Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Alhassan Yusuf Abdullahi and the couple of defensive midfielders Frank Onyeka and Raphael Onyedika are available for the spaces in the middle, while Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Moses Simon, Victor Boniface, Samuel Chukwueze, Sadiq Umar and Kelechi Iheanacho are in the selection pool for the fore.
Victory will render Monday’s concluding qualifier against Rwanda, at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, an academic session, with only the visitors keen to try and get something out of the clash while the Eagles play for sheer pride. The game will kick off at 7.00 p.m. Ivoirian time, which is 8.00 p.m. in Nigeria.
