Once Argentina’s World Cup rival, now they need a miracle to reach 2026 | OneFootball

There was a time when facing Nigeria in the World Cup was practically an annual event for the Argentine National Team; the African team was a rival of the albiceleste in 1994, 2002, and then consecutively in 2010, 2014, and 2018. However, for 2022 they failed to qualify for the World Cup, and all indications are that for the 2026 World Cup, it won't happen either.

The Super Eagles have won just two matches in the current qualifiers; draws against Lesotho and Zimbabwe and a defeat against Benin have left the team far from the leader South Africa and even with significant complications to get among the four best runners-up that go to Play-offs for a place in the international repechage.

Nigeria's Almost Impossible Options to Qualify for the 2026 World Cup

Nigeria still has one option to qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup, by winning Group C. But for that, they need to beat Lesotho and Benin, hope that Benin doesn't beat Rwanda in their other match, and dream of defeats for South Africa against the two bottom teams of the group: Lesotho and Zimbabwe. If all that happens, they would reach the South Africans at the top of the Group.

But it still won't be enough, since they are obliged to reduce a goal difference that favors South Africa by 6 goals (+8 South Africa / +2 Nigeria). Only if all that is fulfilled, Nigeria would manage to qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup.

Now, as unlikely as their direct qualification seems, so does their qualification for the African Play-offs. There are nine groups in the CAF Qualifiers, and only the four best runners-up will qualify for those Play-Offs. In the best-case scenario - which would be the only one in which they could qualify - Nigeria would reach 17 points in their group.

With that, they would already be behind Ivory Coast (20pts)/Gabon (19pts), leaders of Group F, so there would be three spots remaining for Nigeria, and all the runners-up from the rest of the groups - except Tanzania - have at least four more points so far in the Qualifiers.

Basically, by winning their two matches, Nigeria still depends on results from seven of the other eight groups in the Qualifiers to be able to enter the African Play-Offs. In the fortunate case that they achieve it, they would need to win two more matches to continue with chances of going to the World Cup.

But winning the Play-Offs wouldn't mean qualification for the 2026 World Cup either. In Africa, the Play-Offs grant a spot for the international repechage against five other teams from CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, Oceania, and Asia, so they would have to play that other tournament - and win it - to finally enter the World Cup.

Nigeria is one of the biggest teams in Africa, but their chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup are minimal, despite the expansion of spots to 48 teams, and all indications are that they will miss their second consecutive World Cup. Unless, of course, something more than a miracle happens.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.