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Nigeria and South Africa are set to clash once again as the Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana are drawn in the same group for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers
The Super Eagles of Nigeria found out their opponents for the qualifying phase of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Mexico, and Canada.
Nigeria to play South Africa in World Cup qualifiers
Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2022 edition of the World Cup won by Argentina after falling at the play-off stage to old foes Ghana, and have been grouped with another of its international rivals South Africa.
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Nigeria and South Africa headline Group C of CAF’s World Cup qualifiers and are joined by Benin Republic, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Lesotho.
The qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup will kick off on November 13, 2022, with each team playing at least 10 matches in home and away round-robin matches.
Nine teams to qualify directly for World Cup
Due to the number of teams to play at the World Cup increasing from 32 to 48 in 2026, Africa as seen its slots increase from five to nine while also gaining a place in an inter-continentl playoff.
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There are nine qualification groups in the CAF region, meaning that only one team can qualify directly from each group, with only the top team from each of CAF’s nine qualifying groups automatically reaching the 2026 World Cup.
Four of the best losers from the nine groups will also qualify for a continental play-off, the winner of which will compete in an inter-continental play-off which could see Africa get an astounding 10 places at the 2026 World Cup.
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