The Super Eagles of Nigeria on Tuesday defeated Benin 4-0 in Uyo to keep their World Cup dreams alive.
Nigeria, managed by Eric Chelle, had Victor Osimhen to thank as his hat-trick, added to by Frank Onyeka’s late goal, gave the Super Eagles the three points they needed to finish as runners-up in Group C.
Nigeria needed South Africa to drop points against Rwanda in Nelspruit, but the Bafana Bafana ran out 3-0 victors to jump above Benin and top the group.
In the African qualifying stages, only the group winners qualify directly for next year’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, while the runners-up qualify for a play-off stage.
As a result, Nigeria will be thrown into a rankings list of all the group runners-up throughout the continent. With Eritrea withdrawing from the qualifiers, thus reducing the number of teams in Group E to five teams, only the results against the top-five teams in each of the nine qualifying groups will be used to determine the top four-ranked second-place teams.
And as it stands, the Super Eagles, look set to progress to the playoffs. Why? Because Nigeria, who earned 17 points in Group C, will have two points deducted from matches against Zimbabwe, leaving them with 15 points and a goal difference of +7. This still places them among the four best runners-up, alongside Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and Niger, all of whom are on similar points tallies but inferior goal margins.
Gabon and DR Congo are currently placed second in Groups B and F, respectively and could still finish top of their groups. Regardless of the outcome of their final group games, which are ongoing, the worst that can happen to the Super Eagles is a drop from third to fourth in the ranking of second-placed teams.
The top four-ranked sides all move into play-off semi-finals, with the two winners facing off in a final to decide Africa’s sole representative in a further inter-confederation play-off stage.
The rankings for those semi-finals will be made off FIFA ranking, with the highest taking on the lowest, and the second-highest facing the third-highest.
The inter-confederation play-offs will be conducted in March next year, with six teams from five confederations playing for the final two spots at the World Cup.
For now, Nigeria’s dominant display in Uyo has reignited hope that their World Cup journey is far from over.