THE Super Eagles of Nigeria have kept their World Cup hopes alive after a decisive 4-0 win against Benin Republic on Tuesday, booking a place in the CAF knockout playoff round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The victory at Godwil Akpabio Stadium , Uyo, came on the back of intense pressure on the Nigerian side, which risked missing out on the global showpiece for a second consecutive time.
Before the match, Nigeria sat third in Group C with 14 points, behind leaders Benin (17 points) and South Africa (15 points).
South Africa, meanwhile, sealed their place at next year’s World Cup after a 3-0 victory over Rwanda at home, finishing top of the group with 18 points.
The result meant Nigeria, despite beating Benin, fell short of automatic qualification and will now proceed to the CAF playoff stage.
How the CAF Knockout works
Under the current African qualifying format for the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, each of the nine group winners qualifies automatically for the tournament.
However, the road is still tough for second-place teams like Nigeria, which still compete in the second-placed ranking.
The top four second-placed teams across all nine qualifying groups advance to a CAF knockout playoff. This mini-tournament determines which nation will represent Africa in the intercontinental playoff.
Currently, Cameroon, Garbon and Nigeria have mathematically qualified for the playoff, with either of Burkina Faso or Congo joining the group.
The playoff involves a single-leg elimination format, where the four runners-up are paired against each other in two matches.
The winners of those two fixtures will then face off in a final playoff match.
Consequently, the victor of that final advances to the intercontinental playoff.
Intercontinental playoff path
The intercontinental playoff will include six teams from different confederations, one each from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and South America, and two from the CONCACAF region (North and Central America).
These six teams will compete in a mini-tournament hosted in one of the World Cup’s organizing countries.
Two of the highest-ranked teams (based on FIFA rankings) will be seeded and given a bye into the second round. The remaining four will play a single-leg semifinal, with the two winners then meeting the seeded teams.
The two final winners will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M