World Cup play-offs: How Nigeria can still qualify for 2026 tournament

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Evening Standard

·14 Oktober 2025

World Cup play-offs: How Nigeria can still qualify for 2026 tournament

Super Eagles needed a favour from Rwanda

Nigeria beat Benin 4-0 to leapfrog their opponents and keep their World Cup dreams alive.

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The Super Eagles had their star striker Victor Osimhen to thank as his hat-trick, added to by Frank Onyeka’s late goal, gave them the three points they needed to finish as runners-up in Group C, which went down to the wire.

Benin began the day top, needing to avoid a heavy defeat against Nigeria, but they were thrashed in Uyo.

Nigeria needed South Africa to drop points against Rwanda in Nelspruit, but the Bafana Bafana ran out 3-0 victors to jump above Benin and top the group.

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.

How do Nigeria qualify for the 2026 World Cup?

As such, Nigeria will be thrown into a rankings list of all the group runners-up throughout the continent.

The top four-ranked sides all move into play-off semi-finals, 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 semi-finals will be made off FIFA ranking, with the highest taking on the lowest, and the second-highest facing the third-highest.

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.