The Nigeria of Osimhen, Lookman & Co. went from being virtually eliminated in the African Qualifiers to a team with real chances of going to the 2026 World Cup.FIFA confirmed this Monday (29) the puni...
The Nigeria of Osimhen, Lookman & Co. went from being virtually eliminated in the African Qualifiers to a team with real chances of going to the 2026 World Cup.
FIFA confirmed this Monday (29) the punishment for South Africa, the then leader of Group C, due to the irregular lineup of Teboho Mokoena in the 2-0 victory over Lesotho on March 21.
The second from Adams ....#BafanaPride@SABC_Sportpic.twitter.com/la8GTUtiNn
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) March 21, 2025
South Africa can still appeal.
The presence of the midfielder, who should have served a suspension in the fifth-round match, turned the mentioned victory into a 3-0 defeat.
Bafana Bafana led the group with 17 points and a goal difference of eight. But they now have 14 points and a goal difference of three.
This allowed the Benin team to take the top position and ensured the "rebirth" of Nigeria.
Before the punishment, the Super Eagles were six points behind the only team that would qualify directly for the World Cup with two rounds remaining.
See the Qualifiers regulations below.
📊 Updated Standings
Benin 🇧🇯 - 14 points - Four wins, two draws, and two losses. Goal difference +4
South Africa 🇿🇦 - 14 points - Four wins, two draws, and two losses. Goal difference +3
Nigeria 🇳🇬 - 11 points - Two wins, five draws, and one loss. Goal difference +2
Rwanda 🇷🇼 - 11 points - Three wins, two draws, and three losses. Goal difference zero
Lesotho 🇱🇸 - 9 points - Two wins, three draws, and three losses. Goal difference -3
Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 - 4 points - Four draws and four losses. Goal difference -8
📅 Remaining Matches
South Africa and Nigeria - who drew 1-1 in the last round - will play away games next Sunday (5).
Bafana Bafana will face the eliminated Zimbabwe.
The Super Eagles will face Lesotho, who now dream of at least a playoff spot.
Benin, on the other hand, will visit Rwanda - another team grateful for the punishment.
The final round will be on the following Sunday (12) and will feature Nigeria 🆚 Benin, South Africa 🆚 Rwanda, Lesotho 🆚 Zimbabwe.
Regulations📝
Fifty-three teams were divided into nine groups.
Only the group leader will go directly to the World Cup.
The four best second-placed teams secure a spot in the African playoffs.
Which will determine the continent's representative in the world playoffs.
There will be six teams competing for two spots in the World Cup, and so far only New Caledonia is guaranteed.
Only Morocco and Tunisia have qualified so far.
All Qualified Teams 👇🏽
AFC - Asia
🇦🇺 Australia - 🇰🇷 South Korea - 🇮🇷 Iran - 🇯🇵 Japan - 🇯🇴 Jordan (debutant) - 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan (debutant)
CAF - Africa
🇲🇦 Morocco - 🇹🇳 Tunisia
Concacaf - Central and North America
🇨🇦 Canada (host country) - 🇺🇸 United States (host country) - 🇲🇽 Mexico (host country)
Conmebol - South America
🇦🇷 Argentina - 🇧🇷 Brazil - 🇨🇴 Colombia - 🇪🇨 Ecuador - 🇵🇾 Paraguay - 🇺🇾 Uruguay
OFC - Oceania
🇳🇿 New Zealand
Allocation of Spots
- Europe: 16
- Africa: 9
- Asia: 8
- South America: 6
- North and Central America: 6
- Oceania: 1
- Playoff: 2
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
📸 PHILL MAGAKOE - AFP or licensors
Category: General Sports
