The Nigeria Super Eagles are set to play Gabon in the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying playoffs, scheduled for Thursday, 13 November, in Morocco. This decisive fixture comes after Nigeria secured a spot in the four-team playoff tournament as one of the best runners-up from the African qualification groups. The match is a crucial step towards securing a spot in the next stage of the qualification process for the tournament to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Gabon, the Super Eagles’ opponents, finished second in Group F of their qualification group, trailing behind the African champions, Côte d’Ivoire. Nigeria, meanwhile, confirmed their playoff berth with a resounding 4–0 victory over Beninin Uyo, a result prominently featuring a hat-trick by star forward Victor Osimhen. The Super Eagles’ performance on the final matchday was sufficient to see them advance based on the criteria for the best second-placed teams across the nine groups.
Should the Super Eagles defeat Gabon in the semi-final, they will advance to the final match of the mini-tournament, scheduled for Sunday, 16 November. The winner of that final tie will face the winner of the other semi-final, which pits Cameroon against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo). The playoff tournament is being hosted by Morocco and features single-leg knockout matches to determine Africa’s representative at the intercontinental playoffs.
The eventual winner of the four-team African playoff will not automatically qualify for the World Cup but will instead proceed to the intercontinental playoffs in March 2026. This final hurdle will see six teams from various confederations—namely Africa, Asia, South America, Oceania, and North/Central America—compete for the last two available spots at the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals.
The playoff format dictates that the semi-finals pit the highest-ranked team against the lowest-ranked team, with the second and third-ranked teams meeting in the other match. Nigeria’s crucial 4-0 win over Benin and their strong goal difference of plus seven secured their place in this high-stakes tournament.
