World Cup
World Cup 2026 is a ‘Mission Impossible’ for Super Eagles
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for the Super Eagles to qualify for the World Cup 2026.
The moment Zimbabwe’s substitute player, Tawanda Chirewa, sneaked through a Nigerian defence trying to wind down the clock at the dot of regulation time, it was not just an equaliser for the Brave Warriors of Zimbabwe; it was the beginning of the end of Nigeria’s lean chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
After three home matches in the series, the Super Eagles could not pick a win. They have dropped six valuable points on home ground.
There are just two more home matches against Rwanda and Benin while the other two matches away will be contested in South Africa against the Bafana Bafana and also Lesotho who have adopted South Africa as their home ground.
On account of intense rivalry, it is unlikely that the Super Eagles will get breathing space on South African soil.
Even as the possibility exists that South Africa may suffer a three-point deduction over fielding an ineligible player in their Match Day 5 fixture, Nigeria will not be a direct beneficiary. South Africa will still retain the leadership of the group.
Rather, Nigeria will drop from the current fourth position to the fifth.
It will be an advantage to Lesotho who will benefit and limp from the fifth position to second as their point haul will rise to 9, just one behind the likely 10 that South Africa will have if three points are deducted.
With Nigeria finding it difficult to win at home, the possibility of beating Rwanda in the 31 August Match Day 7 fixture cannot be guaranteed. Rwanda had beaten Nigeria on home ground before, they will be ambitious to repeat the feat against a team with sagging hopes and epileptic form.
In a corresponding match, Lesotho may opt out of South Africa to prosecute their home fixture against Bafana Bafana as they are likely to be in contention for Group C leadership.
With just four matches to go and just 12 maximum points at stake, the possibility of getting a comfortable second position and qualifying for a tortious play-off looks remote.
Four best second-placed teams out of nine will go for a play-off that will produce a team for an Intercontinental play-off.
With the current trend, the likelihood of a Group C team qualifying for the play-off is very remote. After six match days, depending on where the pendulum of FIFA‘s decision swings in the South Africa – Lesotho match, the best a Group C second-placed team will have going into match day 7 will be nine points for Lesotho if points are deducted from South Africa. If not, it will be Rwanda with eight points.
Already, the second-placed team in Group F, Gabon is on 15 points. Groups B, D, G, H and I already have second-placed teams on 12 points. Only in Group E where Morocco will likely pick a World Cup ticket on Match Day 7, has a second-placed team, Niger Republic, with a lower point haul than its counterpart in Group C.
With epileptic form, the chances of Super Eagles are very slim. Flashback to the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, the 1-1 draw on Tuesday with Zimbabwe means that the Super Eagles have won just one World Cup qualifying duel in eight matches.
How the second-placed teams currently rank
Group A – Burkina Faso 11 points
Group B – Senegal – 12 points
Group C – Rwanda – 8 points (Lesotho potentially 9 pending FIFA’s decision)
Group D – Cameroon – 12 points
Group E – Niger – 6 points
Group F – Gabon 15 points
Group G – Mozambique – 12 points
Group H – Namibia – 12 points
Group I – Comoros Islands 12 points
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With just a year to go until the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in the United States, concerns are mounting over the impact of extreme summer heat on players and fans.
According to experts interviewed by the BBC, FIFA may be forced to adjust match schedules drastically—possibly even staging the World Cup final as early as 9 a.m.—to mitigate the risks posed by soaring temperatures.
The warnings follow sweltering conditions witnessed during recent international and Club World Cup matches held in the U.S., where athletes and spectators alike were exposed to intense heat and humidity.
One of the leading voices raising the alarm is Professor Mike Tipton, an expert in thermal physiology at the University of Portsmouth. Speaking to BBC Sport, he emphasised the potential health risks of playing in extreme conditions and recommended that matches begin as early in the day as possible.
“From a thermo-physiological point of view, for health and performance reasons, I would look to start matches as early as possible,” Tipton stated, suggesting that even the final—traditionally held in the afternoon or evening—could be moved to a morning kickoff.
Tipton went further, noting that the ideal solution would be to host the tournament during a cooler time of year, as was done with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which was shifted to November and December due to extreme heat.
However, with the 2026 tournament already locked in for June 11 to July 19, FIFA’s only remaining flexibility lies in scheduling match times.
The 2026 edition will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico across multiple cities, some of which are known for intense summer heat.
Health experts are urging organisers to prioritise player safety and fan well-being, warning that failing to act could lead to performance issues, heat-related illnesses, or worse.
FIFA has yet to publicly comment on any proposed changes to match schedules, but as temperatures continue to rise, pressure is mounting for the governing body to take decisive action ahead of football’s biggest tournament.
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FIFA’s Global Football Development chief Arsene Wenger acknowledged that the quality of pitches hosting Club World Cup matches in the U.S. was not good enough, but insisted it would be better when the country co-hosts the 2026 World Cup.
The pitches, often very dry and sprinkled with water during cooling breaks or at halftime, have been widely criticised, mainly by coaches and players of the European teams taking part.
“I’ve been personally on the pitch at Orlando,” former Arsenal manager Wenger said on Saturday. “It’s not at the level that the European clubs are used to because it’s not perfect, but that will be rectified for the World Cup next year.”
Paris St Germain coach Luis Enrique raised the issue early in the expanded Club World Cup tournament.
“The ball bounces like a rabbit,” Luis Enrique said after his team’s opening 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid.
“Today, for example, the field used to be artificial turf, and now it’s natural grass laid over it, which means it has to be watered manually. It’s a big problem for the way we play.”
“FIFA really needs to take this seriously. Not just the stadium fields but also the training pitches. If we’re calling this the best club tournament in the world, it should have world‑class facilities. I can’t imagine an NBA game played on a court full of holes.”
-Reuters
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Congo will be allowed to continue participating in the World Cup qualifiers despite missing two fixtures in March when they were banned, world football’s governing body FIFA said on Wednesday.
Congo were suspended from February to May because of government interference in the running of their football association (FECOFOOT) but the ban was lifted when officials returned to their positions and were handed back access to their headquarters and technical training centre.
Sports minister Hugues Ngouelondele had appointed an ad-hoc committee last year to run the association, claiming it needed to sort out disputes among association office bearers, but FIFA suspended FECOFOOT due to third-party interference, which violates its statutes.
During the ban, Congo were not allowed to participate in any international competition, which meant they did not honour 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Tanzania and Niger in March.
A FIFA spokesman told Reuters the points from those fixtures were forfeited and a 3-0 victory awarded to their opponents.
But they will continue in the qualifiers when they resume in September, even if they have no chance of qualifying.
Congo are scheduled to play Tanzania at home in September and conclude their fixtures in October with matches at Niger and Morocco.
Congo have no points in the group, which Morocco lead with 15 points, six more than Tanzania in second place.
The group winner qualifies for next year’s World Cup in North America while the runner-up has a possibility to participate in playoffs if they are among the four best second-placed teams in the nine African qualifying groups.
FIFA has taken a hard line on government interference in football matters with the likes of Chad, Kenya, Pakistan and Zimbabwe among those banned in recent years.
Congo were African champions in 1972 but have never been to a World Cup.
-Reuters
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