The Super Eagles of Nigeria will have to go past Bafana Bafana of South Africa as well as Benin Republic, coached by former coach Gernot Rohr, to feature at the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico.
The other teams in Group C are Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Lesotho.
The qualifying tournament will begin on November 13, 2023.
The winners of this group will qualify automatically for the World Cup, while the runners-up stand a chance to be involved in a playoff for an extra ticket for Africa.
Nigeria eliminated South Africa in the qualifying tournament to the 1994 World Cup.
That was the start of a rivalry that has seen both countries’ paths crossed several times in AFCON qualifiers as well with the Eagles enjoying a better head-to-head record.
Interestingly, Rohr, who qualified Nigeria to the 2018 World Cup, will be plotting with his new team Benin to stop the Eagles from flying all the way to the next World Cup.
The Franco-German coach was unceremoniously sacked late in 2020 after he had qualified Nigeria to the delayed AFCON in Cameroon.
