Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Morocco, Algeria, Senegal and debutant Cape Verde will face tough opponents at the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The Black Stars, who are drawn in Group C will take on 1966 World Cup champions England, 2018 runners-up Croatia and Panama.
Semi-finalists at the 2022 edition, Morocco, will battle with Brazil, Scotland and Haiti.
In Group I, Senegal will tackle France, Norway and a team from FIFA playoff 2. In the opening match of the Korea/Japan World Cup Senegal stunned France 1-0.
Also Read: 7 Times Super Eagles Battled For Glory In North African-Hosted AFCONs — And How They Fared
Africa Cup of Nations champions Cote d’Ivoire are housed in Group E alongside four-time winners Germany, Ecuador and Curacao who will be making their first appearance.
Algeria have their work cutout as they will go up against reigning champions Argentina, Austria and Jordan while Group G will see Egypt square up against Belgium, Iran and New Zealand.
Super Eagles’ AFCON 2025 Group C foes Tunisia will battle Holland, Japan and a team from UEFA play-off B and first timers Cape Verde will play Spain,, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.
Also in Group A South Africa, who beat the Super Eagles to the automatic qualification ticket, will take on hosts Mexico, South Korea a team from UEFA play-off D.
Meanwhile, Africa could feature a 10th team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup of DR Congo qualify via the Intercontinental playoffs in Mexico in March, 2025.
The Congolese defeated the Super Eagles on penalty shootout in the African playoffs to clinch the sole ticket.
They will be eyeing a first World Cup appearance since making their debut at the 1974 edition in the former West Germany.
By James Agberebi
7 Comments
See mostly easy fixtures for many of the African nations. At least 6 should be among the top 2 in their groups, not forgetting since it’s round of 32 first in the knockout stage, 8 best 3rd place teams progress also.
That means nearly all African teams, if they can win even a match, can progress to round 32.
This bogey world cup is what NFF ineptitude cost us to enjoy with their thoughtless processes that ruined our other national teams.
Can September 2026 come already so that we can rejig NFF board?
I would have fancy our chance of making it out of any of this groups seriously, but it’s well.
Its really a shame that we not going to the world cup…it was really emotional watching the draw honestly…
It is a strange and heartbreaking irony that as the world prepares for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, nine African nations—and possibly a tenth if DR Congo triumphs in their playoff—stand proudly among the participants. Yet Nigeria, once the pride and pulse of African football, is absent. And what makes the pain heavier, almost unbearable, is knowing that this was not destiny—it was a human-made tragedy, crafted through negligence, ego, confusion, and a failure of responsibility at critical moments.
Those who held the power to shape our destiny—the NFF, the coaching crew led by Finidi, and certain players—now watch from the sidelines. They might smile, they might shrug, they might pretend not to feel the sting, but deep inside, if conscience still breathes within them, this moment should haunt them.
Because Nigerians are not mourning a mere football loss.
We are mourning a betrayed dream, a wounded identity, a legacy dragged through the mud by the very hands entrusted to protect it.
We will sit in front of our screens, hear the thunder of World Cup crowds, watch African teams we once outclassed march confidently into stadiums, and we will feel a silent, cutting ache. The ache of knowing that we had everything it takes—talent, history, hunger, pedigree—but were denied by people who did not rise to the moment.
And yes—the NFF, whose chaotic leadership and lack of structure suffocated a golden generation.
Finidi, whose tactical indecision and inability to steady the ship cost us dearly. Some players, whose half-hearted commitment and inflated egos betrayed teammates who would have spilled blood for the badge.
But I deliberately did not mention José Peseiro, even though he laid the foundation for this catastrophe. Unlike the others, he is not a Nigerian. The patriotic fire and national urgency we expected simply did not live in him. The two early games he threw away—matches Nigeria should have won comfortably—became the rotten seeds of our failure. Peseiro approached them with a coldness and detachment that only a man with nothing to lose could display.
He had no emotional stake in Nigeria’s success. No skin in the game.No national pride to protect. His only real motivation was the salary he collected from the NFF while drifting toward the end of his coaching career. Patriotism was foreign to him, and passion was never part of his coaching vocabulary. And so, while he bears responsibility, he does not carry the same moral weight as Nigerians who failed their own nation.
In the same breath, I also did not mention Eric Chelle, because in fairness, the man truly tried his best. He inherited chaos and still carved moments of order out of it. Perhaps—just perhaps—if Chelle had gotten the job earlier, he might have dragged us across the qualifying line. He had the tactical mind, the calm presence, and above all, he enjoyed something neither Finidi nor Peseiro ever had: Victor Osimhen at his peak and fully available. And this matters.
Osimhen’s absence in key matches—games that demanded heart, blood, and fire—was a blow that exposed us terribly. One cannot deny the possibility that results might have been vastly different if Finidi or Peseiro had enjoyed even half the privilege Chelle had: a fit, hungry, fully-charged Osimhen leading the line. No one will ever know. And that uncertainty is part of the pain.
But what we do know is this:
Nigeria should have been at the 2026 World Cup. Even with the turbulence surrounding qualification, even with the mistakes, even with the storms. Because when Nigeria eventually qualifies, history shows we perform with dignity, courage, and brilliance. We rise when the world is watching.
Now, instead, we are trapped in silence—forced to watch countries with far less talent and with half our pedigree dance on the stage that once belonged to us. We will see their flags wave while ours lies folded in disappointment.
This is the wound. This is the heartbreak. This is the conscience-pricking truth that should trouble every Nigerian who played a role in this failure.
So yes, perhaps the NFF, the players, and Finidi should be “happy” watching the World Cup groups being drawn, knowing fully that they helped script the painful reality of Nigeria’s absence.
But may that “happiness” never sit comfortably in their hearts. May it follow them like a shadow. May it remind them—every time they see a World Cup highlight, every time the anthem echoes, every time another African team steps out to play—that Nigeria should have been there. We had the players. We had the history. We had the destiny. But leadership failed us.
And this failure… this one… will not fade quickly.
I said I wouldn’t comment on this thread, but alas…
The most painful part for me was the realisation that this World Cup offers the biggest chance of progressing to the knockout stages because of the option of going through as one of the best placed 3rd positioned team from the group.
Honestly, the NFF dropped the ball badly on this one.
We didn’t need a world-class coach, we didn’t need an A-list coach, we didn’t need a top-notch coach for the remainder of the qualifiers after Peseiro jumped ship, following the 2 points he managed in 2 matches.
We only needed an average coach, one that is a mild step up from most of our indigenous coaches, one like Eric Chelle, but the NFF, in their infinite wisdom, gave us Finidi!!! And, by the time they managed to engage an average/decent coach, a coach they are still owing wages (by the way), our goose was cooked!
Chelle tried his best; he really did. But this World, every team wanted to go: Rwanda, South Africa, Benin. We needed to hit the ground running, never looking back until the last qualifier. But we started poorly, continued poorly, but Chelle’s strong finish was too little, too late.
Chelle, I observe, actually suffers from the same ailment as most of our local coaches because, once you decode their methods, it’s difficult for them to recover.
Against Congo, what killed Chelle wasn’t “black magic” as he shamelessly alleged. But it was that “M” word: marking. Tight marking, man marking, mass marking and Chelle… had no answer! Iwobi was tightly marked to lose possession, leading to the goal we conceded. Chukwueze wasn’t allowed to breathe. Simon and Ejuke were heavily marked, ensuring that our centre forward had no supply of passes.
Sadly, Onyeka and Ndidi could not wrestle the midfield from the grip of the Congolese. Iwobi? Forget Iwobi, as he was marked with wickedness and ferocity, so much so that the other Super Eagles players simply stopped passing to him.
It was a masterclass in marking from Congo, which Chelle will need to be able to address if he expects to go far in the Afcon, if he expects to lead the team beyond the Afcon. He is a decent coach. If he learns (more quickly) from his shortcomings, who knows, he might grow into the role and be around for the next 4 years.
As of next year’s World Cup, no point crying over spilt akamu!
The Women’s World Cup in 2027 will also have 32 teams in attendance, and I fear we might not qualify for that as well.
As Mr Sly has been trying to draw our attention to in recent times, the Super Falcons are a super-ageing outfit, as most of the superstars are at the later end of their 20s.
We have no backup credible goalkeepers, and the U-20s and U-17s have been dropping like poorly coached flies in their respective World Cups.
I praised Justine Madugu and lauded his tactical approach at the last Women’s Afcon. But, to qualify for and go far in the 2027 Women’s World Cup, are you telling me that you will fancy Madugu against Sarena Wiegman?
I mean, are the NFF deliberately pouring gasoline flames of humiliation on Nigeria’s football? I don’t get it, I really don’t!
Lol, Deo, you are dreaming too far. Madugu vs Weigman may (I don’t want to sound too “unpatriotic” by saying “will”) never happen.
That means, Nigeria should have qualified for WAFCON semis.
With the friendlies no-show especially the window last week where FIFA gave room for 3 matches at most), falcons are not reaching the semis because the next matches are in March, WAFCON month.
For starters, only the top 2 in each group moves over to quarter finals. No best third place spots in 2026.
To add salt to injury, 2 best losing quarter finalists which definitely will include Nigeria as per ranking highest on the continent, will qualify for the intercontinental playoffs by next December.
If we couldn’t overcome African opponents in the main WAFCON, is it the intercontinental playoffs we will survive.
I don’t see our oldie players who’ll be a year older next year with no friendly, no new player conviction to embrace the falcons, another “one week to African competition player release date by FIFA as they have just done for next week’s afcon” example to follow for WAFCON preparation, one dimensional and predictable Madugu, obviously players downing tools against NFF, and falcons will still prevail.
Have you seen some of the youthful and fast squads coming to WAFCON?
I have since tampered my expectations and will not talk about falcons anymore.
A foreign coach would have sounded the alarm of illpreparation a long time ago, not the emilokan current gaffer.
I bet he never submitted any programme to NFF and so those effectual clueless and evil bonkers did nothing.
Ghana planned England friendly as at September – before WAFCON 2026 qualifiers in October where we huffed and puffed over Benin Republic.
They should all get out!
March 2026 no far again. Gusau and his echelon will complete full circle of the decadence of all our national teams.
Don’t worry my brother we are all in it together..
It’s hard commenting on this article,it’s really painful…The Nff chairman largely should get the blame for his ineptitude,poor decision making and the worst scrooge-like.The Nff chairman is extremely tight-fisted always to get it cheap.
He has ran our football this way since his first day in office and our football has suffered from his ineptitude..