Akin Ayomide
The Super Eagles camp for the 2026 World Cup (Africa playoffs) in Morocco will open on Sunday, November 10, in Rabat, the Nigeria Football Federation has confirmed.
Nigeria, Gabon, DR Congo and Cameroon will vie for the sole ticket in Africa on November 13 and 16, and the winner will qualify for the inter-continental playoffs in Mexico by March 2026.
The Super Eagles have been drawn against Gabon in the playoffs. The winner of the tie will face the winner of the other playoff semi-final between Cameroon and DR Congo in the final.
According to the Confederation of African Football, the two semi-finals will be played on Thursday, November 13, while the final will be played at the Prince Moulay El Hassan Sports Complex on Sunday, November 16.
The Super Eagles square up to the Panthers of Gabon at either the 18,000–capacity El-Barid Stadium or the 22,000–capacity Prince Moulay El Hassan Sports Complex (both in Rabat). The NFF added that CAF has announced that a draw will be conducted on Thursday (today) to determine which of the semi-final matches will be played in either stadium.
Ahead of the playoffs, NFF president, Ibrahim Gusau is confident that the Super Eagles will be battle-ready
“Everything is being done, by the NSC and the NFF, to see that nothing is left to chance. No stone will be left unturned. That special spirit that saw the team rise to the occasion and score the four goals they actually needed against Bénin Republic on the final day of the qualifiers, will propel the team to victory in the play-offs.
“The camp will open in Rabat, Morocco on Sunday, November 9. We are speaking to the players already and everyone is on the same page. Every preparation needed to see the team soar to victory will be made, and I believe the players are additionally motivated by that keen desire of every professional footballer to feature at the FIFA World Cup finals.”
After emerging as the best second-placed teams from the qualifying series, the teams were ranked and paired according to the FIFA rankings released on October 17.
Nine African teams have qualified directly for the World Cup, which will take place in Canada, Mexico and the United States in 2026 but one of the four teams will have the chance to compete in the FIFA playoff tournament.