2026 World Cup: Nigeria’s WC Qualification Hopes Hanging By A Thread Despite Victor Osimhen Heroics
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Osimhen Stars In Bitter-Sweet Super Eagles’ Qualifiers Against Rwanda and Zimbabwe
After missing out on the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and failing to win any of their first four matches in the 2026 qualification cycle, Nigeria entered matchday five of this year’s qualifiers with only one goal: win their remaining matches at all costs!
In an effort to keep their World Cup hopes alive, Eric Chelle recalled Victor Osimhen to the national setup for their two qualification matches this month, and the Galatasaray forward once again showed why he is the difference-maker in this Super Eagles team.
Last Friday, the 26-year-old was too good for the then-group leaders, Rwanda, as he gave his side the lead inside the first quarter of an hour before doubling his tally just before halftime to give the Super Eagles a two-goal cushion heading into the break.
The 2-0 victory took Nigeria to six points and within striking distance of the top two teams in the group heading into a clutch game six against Zimbabwe in Uyo, where they were massively fancied to come away with another win by most of the best online betting sites.
Osimhen struck first again, giving his side the lead against the Warriors, beating George Chigova with a diving header from Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina’s cross, which briefly took the Super Eagles to second place in the group.
That strike took Osimhen to 26 goals for his country - the second most of any Nigerian player!
However, Chelle’s side were far from convincing thereafter, as they saw a Knowledge Musona effort cannon off the crossbar before suffering a hammer blow in stoppage time, when Tawanda Chirewa managed to squeeze a shot past Stanley Nwabali to bring the scores level at the death.
Check out all the matchday five results using our World Cup livescore tool right here on SportyTrader!
CAF 2026 WCQ: Group C Standings After Six Games
Following the draw against Zimbabwe, Nigeria remained in fourth place in Group C with seven points in six games. South Africa, meanwhile, pulled five points clear at the top of the standings with a 2-0 victory over Benin, who are tied on eight points with second-placed Rwanda.
Group C Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 13 |
| 2 | Rwanda | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| 3 | Benin | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 8 |
| 4 | Nigeria | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| 5 | Lesotho | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 6 |
| 6 | Zimbabwe | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 4 |
With FIFA making the change to allow 10 African teams to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, the nine group winners automatically earn their spot in the competition, while the runners-up in each group enter a pool in which the four highest-ranked teams based on points will compete for the remaining spot in the main draw.
As it stands, Gabon (15 points), Namibia (12 points), Mozambique (12 points) and Burkina Faso (11 points) occupy those four spots. Nigeria are still in with a shot of overtaking any of these teams, given that there are four games to go, but it will not be easy, as they still have to play Bafana Bafana and Benin, whom they were unable to beat in the earlier rounds.
Ranking of runners-up
| Pos | Group | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | F | Gabon | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 15 |
| 2 | H | Namibia | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 12 |
| 3 | G | Mozambique | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 12 |
| 4 | A | Burkina Faso | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 11 |
| 5 | I | Madagascar | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 10 |
| 6 | B | DR Congo | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| 7 | D | Cameroon | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| 8 | C | Rwanda | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| 9 | E | Niger | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
There are still plenty of important matches to go during this international break, so be sure to check out our experts' World Cup qualifier predictions for more insights!
