When Nigeria will discover World Cup 2026 play-off opponents as dates for mini tournament confirmed

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Evening Standard

·14 October 2025

When Nigeria will discover World Cup 2026 play-off opponents as dates for mini tournament confirmed

Nigeria have been handed a World Cup qualification lifeline after beating Benin

Nigeria are among four nations waiting to discover their opponents in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) World Cup play-off semi-final.

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Nigeria saved their best performance in qualification for the final game, thumping Benin 4-0 in Uyo on Tuesday evening to leapfrog their rivals in Group C.

Victor Osimhen was the hero for Eric Chelle’s side as he netted a superb hat-trick in his nation’s hour of need. Although, with time ticking away, the hosts still needed another goal to guarantee a play-off spot.

Frank Onyeka, in the first minute of injury time right at the end of the game, scored the decisive goal and one that could be worth its weight in gold over the next few months.

The victory was not enough for the Super Eagles to top the group and therefore qualify automatically for next summer’s tournament as that honour went to South Africa instead after they beat Rwanda 3-0.

However, Nigeria do have a lifeline thanks to a four-star showing inside the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.

At the final whistle, Nigeria joined Cameroon as two of the definite best runners-up from the CAF qualifying section with either Gabon/Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso or DR Congo set to fill the remaining spots.

Once the identity of all four teams have been revealed, they will play a mini tournament in Morocco in November to determine a single team that will go on to compete in an inter-continental playoff in March for a place at the 2026 World Cup.

As announced by FIFA earlier in the week, two semi-finals will be held on November 13 and then the final on November 16 at venues still to be confirmed.

Furthermore, the four teams will have to wait until the next FIFA rankings is issued on October 23 to discover their opponents with the highest-ranked side taking on the lowest and the second-highest taking on the third-highest.

At the time of writing, Nigeria (45) are the highest-ranked African nation to have finished second in qualification which means they would face a play-off semi-final against Gabon (79).