Football: "We Must Now Fight for Second Place" - Chelle on Nigeria’s WC Qualifiers
Chelle Optimistic About Nigeria’s WC Qualification
After failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Nigeria’s hopes of returning to football’s grandest stage in 2026 are still up in the air, with the team currently sitting in fourth place in their qualification group, with seven points after six matches.
The Super Eagles were drawn into Group C alongside South Africa, Rwanda, Benin, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, and were the clear favourites by most of the best online betting sites to top the group and earn automatic qualification to the World Cup, which will be hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada next year.
However, the reality has been in stark contrast to expectation! The Super Eagles failed to win any of their first four group-stage qualifiers, and while they did get in the win column against Rwanda last month, that result was followed by a disappointing 1-1 draw against the Warriors of Zimbabwe four days later.
Despite trailing South Africa by six points, all hope is not lost just yet for the Super Eagles, as the second-placed teams from each group are pooled into a second round of qualifying, where the top-four-ranked runners-up will compete for the final two qualification spots.
Given the gap in Group C, the second round seems the most likely and logical way that Nigeria can qualify for the World Cup, and head coach Eric Chelle already has his sights set on it. During a press conference last month, the Nigeria boss admitted:
“I’m so disappointed for my players for the country and the way things are now we have to start looking at second place, we deserve to win but this is football.”
Still, Nigeria’s path to the runners-up bracket is far from guaranteed, with the teams occupying the top four positions in the ranking already well ahead of them on points. Here is the current ranking of runners-up ahead of the final four games in the qualifiers.
| Pos | Group | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F | Gabon | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 15 |
| 2 | D | Cameroon | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| 3 | B | Senegal | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 12 |
| 4 | H | Namibia | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 12 |
| 5 | I | Comoros | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 12 |
| 6 | G | Mozambique | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 12 |
| 7 | A | Burkina Faso | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 11 |
| 8 | C | Rwanda | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| 9 | E | Niger | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
Qualifying campaigns for the World Cup are still ongoing across all regions, and you can keep up with all the action using our World Cup livescore tool here on SportyTrader!
Rwanda, South Africa Clashes Key For Nigeria
The 2026 World Cup qualifiers are set to resume during the international break in September, and Nigeria have two crucial matches to navigate, starting with a home game in Uyo against Amavubi before travelling to the south of the continent to take on Bafana Bafana.
The Super Eagles cannot afford anything less than taking all six points from those matches, and while the clash against South Africa is expected to be a massive test, Chelle is focused on taking it one game at a time. He said:
"It's an obligation we win in South Africa, but the most important match for us right now is Rwanda in Uyo. South Africa are a good side, but for that game we cannot afford to allow them to play, but first, we have to beat Rwanda at home and then we will focus on the game in South Africa."
Nigeria’s final two games in the group will be played in October when they travel to face Lesotho before ending their qualification campaign at home against Benin, and SportyTrader will be covering all the Super Eagles' matches with our in-depth football predictions throughout the remainder of the competition.
