Nigeria secured a place in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and will be well represented in Morocco, but their participation in the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico is still very much in doubt. Of course, there’s still a long way to go, but looking at their performances so far in the qualifiers, fans are beginning to doubt if they’ll make it. So, can Nigeria still qualify for the 2026 World Cup? That’s the question we’ll be looking to answer in this article.
You see, Nigeria has one of the most stacked squads in African football, but that doesn’t always translate into results on the pitch, especially when it comes to the World Cup. I mean, they failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup but went all the way to the final in the 2023 AFCON.
It’s almost like you can always bet on AFCON Super Eagles to soar but not so much on World Cup Super Eagles. Anyway, whichever version of the Super Eagles you want to bet on, you’d be smart to do it using betking mobile in Nigeria. They have qualified for the 2025 AFCON and their first 3 fixtures at the tournament have already been determined, so of course, the fun can begin.
Anyway, as the Nigeria national team prepares for the 2025 AFCON, the possibility of missing out on the 2026 World Cup still hangs over their heads. They currently sit 5th out of 6 in their qualifying group. They have played 4 games so far and are yet to record a single win, drawing 3 games and losing 1. It’s just been an all-round shambolic performance from a star-studded team.
And what makes this worse is that Nigeria found themselves in a group that should otherwise have been relatively easy for them. Apart from South Africa, no other team in the group comes close in terms of squad names and FIFA rankings. Rwanda, Benin Republic, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe should’ve been a pretty straightforward group, but qualification is now so complicated for the West African giants.
You see, to secure automatic qualification to the World Cup, Nigeria must finish 1st in the group. Right now, they’re 4 points off the top with 5 games left to play, so that’s still achievable. They will just have to make sure not to slip from this point on.
Their next game against Rwanda who currently top the group will be very important. A win will put Nigeria just one point behind them with 4 games left to play.
But if Nigeria does not finish 1st in the group, all hope isn’t lost, as long as they finish 2nd. All second placed teams have a chance of competing in the playoffs where they fight for a place in the World Cup alongside teams from other confederations.
However, if they finish anywhere between 3rd and 6th, they’re out, and that would mean that they will miss out on back to back World Cup tournaments for the first time since they first qualified in 1994. Surely, no one wants that.
But to answer the question; yes, Nigeria can still qualify for the World Cup. If they win every one of their remaining games, they almost certainly will.
Read the full article here
