• Osimhen, Lookman ready for showdown with Crocodiles

Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup through the African playoff if the Super Eagles finish second in Group C was quashed on Wednesday by results from other groups in the qualifying series.

Nigeria will face the Crocodile of Lesotho today in South Africa with victory non-negotiable, while also hoping for South Africa and Benin Republic to drop points against Zimbabwe and Rwanda respectively.

With just 11 points from eight games, the Super Eagles can only reach a maximum of 17 points if they win both remaining fixtures against Lesotho and Benin Republic.

However, the Super Eagles are out of the playoff calculation, going by the current benchmark set by the top four second-placed teams across the qualifying groups.

Gabon and Madagascar lead the runners-up standings with 19 points each, while Burkina Faso and Cameroon follow closely with 18 points apiece. This development means Nigeria’s only remaining path to the World Cup is by winning Group C outright. However, that challenge is steep, with both Benin and South Africa sitting three points ahead of the Super Eagles.

According to reports, the lack of clarity surrounding Eritrea’s withdrawal from the qualifiers is complicating matters. Neither CAF nor FIFA has issued a formal statement on how the uneven number of teams across groups will affect the final rankings of runners-up. But Nigeria must first defeat Lesotho today to start counting on what happens elsewhere.

Africa’s best players in the past two years, Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman will lead Nigeria’s charge for the crucial three points against Lesotho, at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium in the South African city of Polokwane.

The clash is the penultimate matchday of the series, with Nigeria needing all three points and favour from elsewhere to stand in good stead heading into the final matchday, when they host present group leaders Benin Republic at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.

With three points off first-placed Benin Republic and second-placed South Africa, Nigeria must go guns-blazing for their remaining two games, starting with the encounter with the Crocodiles on neutral ground.

Coach Eric Chelle has been unable to call on wing-back Olaoluwa Aina, injured on an atrocious Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein pitch in the clash with South Africa’s Bafana Bafana last month, and defender Bright Osayi-Samuel, midfielder Raphael Onyedika and forward Cyriel Dessers are also out injured.

However, Chelle welcomes back Osimhen (who missed the clash with the Bafana after sustaining an injury against Rwanda in Uyo days earlier), and the triumvirate that shone brightly at last year’s Africa Cup of Nations (the others being Ademola Lookman and Simon Moses) is intact for this big challenge.

Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali is most likely to retain his place in goal, with Captain William Ekong, Calvin Bassey, Bruno Onyemaechi, Semi Ajayi, Zaidu Sanusi and Benjamin Frederick all in line for shirts in the defenceline, and Alex Iwobi, Wilfred Ndidi, Frank Onyeka, Alhassan Yusuf Abdullahi and Christantus Uche available for selection in midfield.

Osimhen, Lookman and Moses are top for the fore, but Chelle also has Samuel Chukwueze, Tolu Arokodare, Terem Moffi and Jerome Akor Adams all in good form.