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Black Thursday

Rostrum The ancient narrow pathway had become so bad that they could not find their way to their destination as the three moved in a grey Honda Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) being piloted by Dayo who was very mindful of the steering. It was on a Thursday. The 35-year-old Misters Dayo, Emeka and Okon were old time friends who reunited just a few days ago at Nsukka in Enugu State having lost contacts about eight years back, or thereabouts, after their graduation from one of the reputable higher citadels of learning in Nigeria situated in the Eastern part of the country, precisely University of Nigeria Nsukka popularly known by its acronym ‘U.N.N’. What occasioned the long-awaited reunion was the convention of their alma-mater’s alumni body themed ‘The homecoming of UNN Alumni’, which usually held once in a blue moon. Though they never studied in the same department, they were conspicuously best of friends during their school days that people within bega...

As Super Eagles struggle to qualify for 2026 World Cup

RostrumNews
The Nigeria's Super Eagles require a high performance, coupled with luck, to scale through the 2026 World Cup qualifying stage.

Contrary to the other groups, Group C is still a three-way tussle for top spot, with all of Benin (17 points), South Africa (15) and Nigeria (14) in contention to take the automatic World Cup berth.

Had South Africa not been deducted three points by CAF for fielding an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, for the victory over Lesotho in March 2025, Nigeria's Super Eagles would be out of the running by now; but there hopes are still alive in spite of the pathetic qualifying outings, in which they won barely three of their nine matches thus far.

The Cheetahs of Benin, who are chasing debut qualification for the World Cup, are in better position, though still faced with enormous challenges ahead. If Benin win, they advance; while Nigeria need maximum points to even stand a chance topping the group.

However, a 2-1 victory for the Super Eagles would leave both sides with identical records, meaning that FIFA would need to refer to their disciplinary records (accumulation of yellow and red cards) in order to determine which team finishes higher in the group.

The Bafana-Bafana of South Africa can overtake Benin for top spot if they beat Rwanda at home and Benin loses to Nigeria.

While a South Africa win and Benin draw would make the former to qualify, if they win by two goals or more.

The Super Eagles need to win 1-0, or by a two-goal margin, and hope that South Africa does not win to progress.

Fred Nwaozor
Analyst