Completesports.com’s live blogging of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Group C matchday 8 game between the Bafana Bafana of South Africa and the Super Eagles of Nigeria at the Free State Stadium [Toyota Stadium], Bloemfontein.
South Africa vs Nigeria Live Blogging – 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier: Group C Matchday 8
Nnamdi Ezekute
Nnamdi Ezekute, a sports reporting expert, has risen through the ranks at Complete Communications Limited (CCL) famed for publications like Complete Sports.
Email: [email protected]
X (Formerly Twitter): @Ezekutive
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34 Comments
My only concern looking at the line-up is Iwobi – I hope he manages to show up in his own way as he somehow did in the last game against the Amavubi and not let his cowardice and lack of wanting to get involved in any tackling whatsoever get in the way of the SE’s today, because if he does, that will be a freeway right through a channel in the middle for SA to feel strong, exploit with their strong will, and running to get through the SE’s.
Also on the other hand, I am really hoping that the rest of the team do enough to cover his tackling and physical contact phobia and do enough to occupy the Bafana, so that Iwobi’s weakness will not become a problem for the team.
Ire o! God bless Nigeria and here’s hoping for thr 3 points today and FIFA rising up out of their strange slumber to sort these 3 points subtraction out sharpish! If they don’t Gusau and his team better be ready to drag FIFA to CAS for legal arbitration sharply.
Let’s goo!
Oga Iwobi has paid his dues. You have respectable football knowledge but your hatred for Iwobi is clouding your usually reliable judgement.
Only God knows what is your problem with this Iwobi. Of everything that is happening it’s only Iwobi that is your problem. You think the coach is a dumb head like you
Dessers is already looking good. He will do something today. This team has to win big.
What kind of pitch is this. From d entrance our players don dey fall. Chai SA really get plan. If na 9ja carry SA come dis kind field, everybody will be complaining. This is really absurd, how in gods name would u bring a game of this magnitude to a rugby stadium. I no fit shout
This referee is a cheat, all d calls are going against SE. Our FA like our govt is useless.
I wrote an article about William Troost-Ekong’s many comical moments for Nigeria.
Another one to add to my collection! 🙂
It’s sad that Chelle gambled this game by bowing to pressure and playing Ekong, I am disappointed with the player selection for the match. Never change a winning team!
Only play Ekong in a back 3, simple.
Ekong don concede goal ooo. Wetin mek Eric Chelle play dis guy. Ekong suppose dey coach from bench abeg. He has no pace and SA knows it.
Goal for 9ja. Bassey scores
Bassey’s version of “Hand of God”. 🙂
I think we should move past William Troost Ekong… he has never been a decent defender. The South Africans know he is the weakest link in the defence… he is insanely slow and cannot use his left leg to save his own life. This should be his last match for Super Eagles… I believe NFF interferred in the player selection and insisted on Ekong playin for experience but he is just not good enough to play against pacy strikers like those SA double wing wizard…
Gbam Jommy, to be honest wen i saw him giving Frederick advise on him looking for long balls o cringed bcos most of his long balls in d padt end up with d opposition, i was telling mysrlf dat if i were there i would tell Frederick not to listen and play his simple confident passes dat has helped him to get dis far. Even if Ekong scores in dis match, he should be captaining from d bench abeg.
Guys watch Ekong on a 1v1, his hands are never tucked behind his back especially in d box, thats a penalty waiting to happen in my opinnion. If a player is smart tgey will just play d ball against his hand as it is not in a batural position. Please Desser is barely contributing anything in dis game or maybe its d pitch, i don’t know but a stronger Tolu would have been better. Osayi samuel too na -1, i would say the pitch is the culprit as even Ndidi is struggling to keep the ball. We are not playing d fluid football we are known for. Passes are going awry everytime. This pitch is a ranch for grazing. See how the ball keeps bouncing, CAF and FUFA should be investigated for approving this kind of a pitch. See the putch Zim vs Rwd played, impeccable compared to this crap. Its ridiculous to be honest.
Ekong sha won finish this team completely, always shaky habba now.
Omo thank God say no VAR o…lol…that bassey goal came of his hand…
Idiot mokey yaish – yuh are a disapointed to all Ghanaians! Yuh did not knew de rules of de game, I ashamed to called yuh a felow Ghanaians Goat! If yuh knoew de rules of football yuh will knew dat that is a good goal becos de Nigreains defender Abassey first head de bal before it hit hes body or arm whishever but in de footbal rule that is allow, so sit down mumu! Kwasiaaa!
Links to watch, please?
Why is d ref not requesting the ambulance stretcher to take Mokoena out same way they took Ndidi off. This is ridiculous. The ref is south african i swear lol. Officiating in africa is very poor. You have to be fair to both side. What is good for d goose is good for d gander like d saying goes.
When will we stop bringing in coaches who are arm-twisted by NFF?
End of the road to WCQ.
Well well well, we try next time 2030. I will keep the coach anyways plus what was that last shot from uche?
My broda dat shot weak me too i swear. Its not all about muscle jare. But d person pipo wen cause us d tix na Finidi, Gusau, Eguavoen, and Ekong. Ekong caused us 6pt, just him alone. Finidi caused us another 6ts. While Eguavoen +Gusau +nff cause of the bulk of d dropped pts. I will not fault Chelle to be honest, he did his best could considering d situation he found d team.
Time to preas the “Reset” button on our national team and our football in its entirety.
2 back to back WC exits…….even the afcon qualification was a struggle with caf and Libya giving us free points.
Our football is due for an overhaul
This coach was paid by Mostsepe….Let’s fight for second place and hopenfor the qualification thing. Ekong just retire…Simon too abeg…Ekong will commit calamity then apologize….How many more calamities?
Second place ke?
I wrote earlier on the Tunisia thread:
“”””””””””””””
Best 4 second place finishers go for intercontinental playoffs.
Who are the best 4 currently:
* Gabon Played 7 Points (18)
* Madagascar Played 8 Pts (16)
* Cameroon Pl. 7 Pts (15)
* Senegal Pl 7. Pts (15)
Coming up immediately
Uganda, 15 points
Burkina Faso, 14 points
Again, second place is not feasible for us at all…
Head to head plays out first when we win our remaining matches and South Africa win theirs apart from today.
That’s 19 points a piece BECAUSE FIFA DEDUCTIONS WILL ULTIMATELY HAPPEN
By the way, we’ll AUTOMATICALLY OVERTAKE Benin Republic as well if we beat them.
We have an unexpected second chance with our destiny in our hands again.
God must really be a Nigerian
“”””””””””””””””””””””””
Now, we blew out that second chance.
No miracle is possible anymore.
Not first place.
Not second place playoff spot.
Most of those Eagles will eternally remember they blew the opportunity to appear in 2 world cups by themselves.
No single world cup appearance in the 2020s decade.
Rubbish guys
And to you Mr Ekong, thanks for finishing what u started against Zimbabwe okay, u cost the team 4 good pts with ur souggish way of play, just decline any call up henceforth pls.
You Nigerians are effing funny people sha – Is this the Uche Uche Uche Crysantus that you have all been shouting for? You guys are too emotional and are always on your feelings yet you completely lack any emotional intelligence whatsoever! The way you people were screaming, calling for Uche? One would have thought that he was a Lamin Yamal or Michael Olise but no, he is just a very ordinary footballer who is actually not up to the required standards of the SE!
And why Chelle felt that he had to leave Iwobi on the full game beats me, though there is no guarantee we would have won had it been otherwise, but now we’ll never ever know.
It is GOODBYE to the world cup for Nigeria as we now stand – boys and girls, clap for yourselves all the Chrisantus Uche advocates! Idiots!
And I think this Chelle dude has a lot to improve on!
A mediocre confused coach. Just play the boys to their strength.
You left out Igho Ogbu playing regularly in Uefa competitions
You left Awaziem playing regularly for Nantes on the bench
You played one dimensional Simon on the left thereby limiting the influence of Lookman
What happened to Lookman on the left and Chukwueze Ior wobi on the right?
Why not continue Bashiru as the No 10 where reverred Sarri plays him?
Why play only Ndidi in the DM when you have Onyeka and Onyedika? One of them could have played alongside Ndidi as double pivots?
Why start Dessers instead of Arokodare??
I said it …. Coaching is our albatross!!! I said it when Chelle couldn’t manage 5 minutes against ordinary Zimbabwe
God will never forgive all those in the Glass House disgracing our country
Shame on Peseiro
Shame on Finidi
Before today, we should be on 16 points worst case
We just do not have the quality of the old anymore… Nigerians used to be the masters of the wing with the likes of Amuneke and Finidi. It is a pity we call people like Simon and Chukwueze wingers. We were lucky not to lose… Nigerians have not shown enough quality to deserve a place in the world cup.
Again hightime we look for osimhen permanent replacement, his absent from the team cost us as well, all coaches planed tactics around their talisman, osimhen absent from the squad contributed close to 30% of our downfall, I’m not sure dude completed 3 of the 8 matches played so far.
A good striker but his fitness is a big concern, Eric shd consider a quality point man on standby, osimhen need work on his fitness, you expect more from a 26yo boy now habba.
You be dindinrin person wey dey break in leg
All the BJ I know Dey get sense how come you gat zero sense? Na ur papa be dindinrin anyways. Oponu omoh.
I see it differently. Wasnt going anywhere with a bunch of developers/frians who only know how to dribble and not pass, no end product. See their own agenda when they play on the field. I still remeber in afcon when lookman yelled at iwobi to pass the ball. They taking over lagos, ondo and now the football. Until people realize, they will forever be delusional. Ekong is mistake prone, I remember all them own goals he did for watford and now he is playing in the middle east. I look at the squad and see players being forced in. Osimhen is injury prone, people saying oh how he doesnt get injured in turkish league. Serie a is a defensive league and he is just not built for that.
Its gonna be a lose-lose situation anyway, if they did qualify they were gonna get beat in the group stages anyway. Fifa world cup finals are usually european or south american. Most of these se players play for bottom half teams or lower league teams. Look at the clubs they play in, the names are so unfamiliar. In country clubs brazilian top tier football is #6 after premier league, la liga, serie a, bundesliga and ligue uh/1.
Its only gonna get worse because now top teams only want european or south american players. Even morrocan players play in turkish league. The things is north african teams are all the same. They are arab/asains. And what I know about asians and what quality coaches say, asians are big on team work. I still remember japan in last world cup the way they were passing and working together, clicking on all cylinders. Its not replicated for sub saharan teams which come from different backgrounds. They all want to do their own thing and shine. The sooner you know, the better. Keep kissing that olympic medal from the 90s and saying ochoa is the best se player. Thats a sign of no progress. Where brazil has quality players coming out every year, more than just pele. The yorubas need to join the brazilians and they will have a high chance of actually winning something since they are there in brazil