*Calvin Bassey’s equaliser against South Africa not enough reprieve

Duro Ikhazuagbe 

Nigeria’s hope of direct qualification for the the 2026 FIFA World Cup appears over following Super Eagles 1-1 draw with Group C leaders South Africa in Bloemfontein on Tuesday evening. 

Only a brilliant revival in the two remaining games can guarantee Super Eagles route through the playoffs.  That itself is no guarantee for Nigeria yet. Eagles are third in Group C behind South Africa (17 points) and Benin Republic on 14 points after defeating Lesotho 4-0 in the late night fixture in Abidjan.

Only the best four of the runners up of all the nine groups will be involved in the playoffs from where the winner will head to a final continental playoff for the ticket to reach the World Cup. Super Eagles are not in reckoning for the best runners up of the group with two games to play.

Eagles’ Captain, William Troost-Ekong, in the 25th minute inadvertently gifted Bafana Bafana the opener when he cleared the ball into Nigeria’s net while attempting to stop a South African goal rush from inside the box.

However, Calvin Bassey redeemed the situation with barely a minute to end of the first half when he jumped highest to nod in a Fisayo Dele-Bashiru cross from the right flank. Although, many perceived that the ball bounced off Bassey’s arm before flying into South African net, the absence of VAR made the goal to stand.

Despite all the changes made by Coach Eric Sekou Chelle to Eagles, the second half was barely better than the first. 

Chelle, who had already been forced to replace the injured Ola Aina with Bright Osayi-Samuel, rang the changes again at half-time, withdrawing captain Troost-Ekong and striker Cyriel Dessers.

The introduction of Tolu Arokodare injected urgency into the attack, with the new Wolves forward narrowly missing the chance to put Nigeria ahead after breaking clear early in the second half.

Tempers flared midway through the second half when opposing coaches Chelle and Hugo Broos squared up on the touchline, adding extra drama to an already fierce contest.

Wilfred Ndidi hobbled off with an injury in the 68th minute, replaced by Crystal Palace’s Christantus Uche, while Ademola Lookman saw his best opening snuffed out when the ball stuck under his feet in the box.

Catalogues of poor finishes and uncoordinated defending dogged Eagles play. They just were not good enough to take the three points from the hosts who were not equally any better apart from occasional brilliance Burley forward, of Lyle Foster and Mohau Nkota. Teboho Mokoena couldn’t also make any difference for the Bafana Bafana who were contented with the draw against Nigeria.

As things stand now with Nigeria having just 11 points  with two games left to play have missed the Group C ticket. 

South Africa are as good as grabbing the ticket with their 17 points lead. Only Benin Republic with 14 points after defeating Lesotho in a late fixture, are left in contention for the ticket with the South Africans. 

Should FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee takes action by deducting three points from South Africa for fielding an ineligible player against Lesotho in March, the Group C will go down to the wire, without Nigeria in reckoning.

Super Eagles performance in the eight matches played in this qualifiers leaves much to be desire.  Five draws and just two victories are not he kind of results expected from a team desirous of qualification for the World Cup, where only the best are fit for the global stage of the beautiful game.

In an earlier fixture on Tuesday, Rwanda won 1-0 at bottom team Zimbabwe.

APR striker Gilbert Mugisha fired the match winner for the visitors after 40 minutes.

GROUP C STANDING

                         P.   W.    D.   L.  GD.  PTS

S’Africa.         8.    5.    2.    1.    8.   17

Benin.              8.    4.   2.    2.    4.   14

Nigeria.           8.   2.   5.     1.    2.   11

Rwanda.         8.   3.   2.     3.   0.    11

Lesotho.          8.   1.   3.     4.   -6.  6

Zimbabwe.      8.  0.    4.     4.  -6.  4

Best 2nd Placed Teams in the Nine Groups

                          P.       GD.     PTS

1Gabon              8.        10.      19

2Madagascar.    8.        7.        16

3DR Congo.         8.        7.       16

4B’Faso.               8.       11.      15

5Cameroon.        8.        10.     15

6Namibia.            8.          8.     15

7Uganda.             8.        5.      15

8Benin                   8.         4.     14

9Tanzania.           8.        -1.      10

RESULTS 

Kenya 5-0 Seychelles 

Namibia 3-0 São Tomé 

S’Leone 2-0 Ethiopia 

Tanzania 0-1 Niger

Zimbabwe 0-1 Rwanda

B’Faso 0-0 Egypt 

C’Verde 1-0 Cameroon

D.R. Congo 2-3 Senegal

S’Africa 1-1 Nigeria

Togo 1-0 Sudan 

Angola 3-1 Mauritius 

Benin 4-0 Lesotho

Gabon 0-0 Côte d’Ivoire 

Gambia 2-0 Burundi

Mauritania 0-0 S’Sudan

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