World Cup Qualifier Final Day: Nigeria Thrash Benin But South Africa Picks Automatic Ticket

By Amaechi Agbo

Nigeria’s hope of participating at the 2026 World Cup was on Tuesday all but sealed after the Eric Chelle led squad thrashed Benin 4-0 in Uyo. The victory was not celebrated by the Super Eagles fans after South Africa defeated Rwanda 3-0 to pick the automatic ticket in Group C. Nigeria will now navigate the playoff tournament to confirm their ticket
Nigeria occupies the third position of the playoff slots and cannot be displaced mathematically by any team.
Due to Eritrea’s withdrawal from the qualification, countries vying for playoff spots will have the results against the sixth-placed teams in their various groups subtracted from their total point accumulation.
Nigeria earned only two points against Zimbabwe, who finished sixth in Group C.
For the playoff spots, Nigeria had 15 points with a +7 goal difference, surpassing Burkina Faso and Niger.
A hattrick from Victor Osimhen and a vital strike from Frank Onyeka sealed the playoffs for the Eagles.
Osimhen put Nigeria ahead in the third minute after a through pass from Samuel Chukwueze. He doubled the lead shortly before halftime with a powerful header off another assist from Chukwueze.
The 27-year-old then completed his hat-trick in the second half courtesy of an inventive header off a free-kick.
With minutes to the final whistle, substitute Onyeka stole into the Benin Republic area to score the all-important fourth goal.
The FIFA playoffs tournament will see six sides fight it out for the final two places at the 2026 World Cup.
It will involve two teams from CONCACAF and one team apiece from the AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL and OFC. The four lowest-ranked nations will meet in bracket semifinals. The two highest-ranked teams will go directly into the finals. The winners of the two bracket finals will reach the FIFA World Cup 26.

What is the inter-confederation playoff?
The second round of the CAF qualifiers will pit the four best runners-up in two one-off semi-final, followed by a final. The winner of this second round will participate in the FIFA playoff tournament.
The inter-confederation playoffs will see six sides fight it out for the final two places at the World Cup.
It will involve two teams from CONCACAF and one team each from the AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL and OFC. The tournament will take place in March 2026.

Which African teams have qualified for the World Cup?
As at the time of this report, seven African nations have qualified for the 2026 World Cup. They are; Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia, Cape Verde, and South Africa
Two more spots will be filled Monday, as the winners of Groups B and F will be decided.
One more African team could qualify via the inter-confederation playoffs.

The World Cup lives on for Nigeria
Going into this match, Nigeria were third in Group C with 14 points, sitting one point behind second-placed South Africa and three behind leaders Benin.
But the Nigerians changed their destiny with their own efforts, thrashing Benin 4-0 to move to the second place.
Thanks to their impressive goal-scoring performance, the result also confirmed they will finish as one of the four best runners-up from the CAF qualifiers, who will have a chance at World Cup qualification through an inter-continental playoff.
South Africa walked away with the top spot with their 3-0 victory over Rwanda, securing their return to the World Cup for the first time since 2010.
A hat-trick from Osimhen and a stoppage-time goal from Onyeka has guided Nigeria to a solid 4-0 win over Benin.
They finish second in Group C, and will now go into the interconfederation playoffs to fight for a spot at the World Cup.
The full-time whistle has gone off in the other match, where South Africa have beaten Rwanda 3-0 and earned World Cup qualification as Group C winners.