For a country as heterogeneous and culturally diverse as Nigeria, there are only a few things that have ever successfully brought us together under one voice, under one flag — and one of these is Football. Not just any football Competition, but the grandest of them all — The World Cup, a stage where legends have been born, careers have been made, expectations reach their peak, the most coveted price in the world of football.

Many have given everything just to have a touch of this prize; many have sacrificed their bodies and careers just for an opportunity to raise it high. This is what the World Cup is, an opportunity to shake hands with destiny, to etch your name in the history of all-time greats.

Nations like Germany, Italy, Brazil, France Argentina have established themselves as dominant competitors having won this trophy multiple times. This Success, however, hasn't exactly spread across all continents, with regions like Asia, North America and Africa still not been able to make a final, let alone win this glorious prize.

Nigeria has had quite a history at the World Cup since her debut in 1994. The Super Eagles exited in the round of 16 that year before going on to qualify for two more editions — 1998 and 2002, before missing out in 2006. For the first time since her debut of 1994, Nigeria failed to make the World Cup, a loss that sports administrators acknowledged as the start of a decline.

Pulse Sports blog reported then that "The Super Eagles' performance level at the Africa Cup of Nations took a noticeable downturn after the failure to qualify for the 2006 World Cup". The African Cup of Nations that followed this qualifications saw Nigeria post one of it's worse performances at the tournament since 1982, exiting in the first knockout round.

The Nigerian Team picked up momentum again qualifying for the world cup for three straight years — 2010, 2014, and 2018 before a second disappointment came in 2022 when Nigeria failed to qualify again for the World Cup.

It is worth noting that for countries like Nigeria and indeed most of Africa, the immediate goal has not always been to win the trophy, but to simply be there. For most of Africa, the fight has been to seek an appearance at the greatest level of football not necessarily to win it. Although, certain African countries have defied the odds like Ghana’s historic run to the quarter-finals in 2010, and Morocco’s fairytale journey to fourth place in 2022 — the highest any African team has ever gone since the tournament began in 1930.

THE JOURNEY SO FAR

Unlike previous World Cup Qualifications, this one takes a different turn. The Confederation of African Football (CAF)

adopted a new, streamlined format designed to offer all 54 member nations a fair and competitive pathway to qualification.

Under this system, the teams are divided into nine groups of 6 teams, with each team playing against the other 5 members of its group in a round robin Home and Away format.

The winners of each group, totaling nine teams, automatically secure qualification for the World Cup. However, the four best second-placed teams across all groups advance to a playoff round, where they compete for one remaining spot in the inter-confederation playoff tournament. The winner of that final playoff earns Africa’s potential tenth slot at the global shows of shows ~ Wikipedia

This new format ensures consistency and competitiveness as each match carries significant weight in determining who qualifies. This new system also recognises and endurance and tactical depth rewarding teams that can maintain form over a long qualifying period stretching from November 2023 to October 2025.

Qualifications for the 2026 World Cup is slowly coming close, and one can say that Nigeria's path to qualification has been anything but smooth. Drawn in CAF Group C alongside South Africa, Benin, Rwanda, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, the Super Eagles have found themselves in a very tight race.

The Super Eagles who were at the beginning of the qualifiers considered favourites now sit comfortably at 3rd place 3 points behind the leaders of the group, Benin. While home and way win against Rwanda and a 2-1 win against Lesotho might have put us ahead, repeated home and away draws against South Africa and Zimbabwe, one draw against Lesotho and a devastating 2-1 loss from the leaders of the group, Benin have put us behind.

These early setbacks raised concerns among fans and pundits who expected a more decisive start, especially given the quality of players at Nigeria’s disposal. This performance is quite similar to that of the 2006 qualifiers where Nigeria failed to get a win over the group's weaker teams.

However, theres no use crying over spilled milk, we are where we are now, and it will take a miracle for us to lead the table after our match against Benin by 5pm today.

The Miracle required isn't just a win against Benin, there's a lot required to win. In essence, Nigeria qualifying for the World cup at this point isn't solely dependent on Nigeria now. The Current Standings do not favour the super eagles, we have Benin leading the group with 17 points and 5 goal difference, South Africa following up second with 15 points and 3 goal difference, and Nigeria following in third place with 14 points and also 3 goals difference.

According to reports from The Nation and other reputable sport outlets, Nigeria first needs to secure a win against Benin with at least a 2-goal margin. This 2 goal margin win will put Nigeria also at 17 points with Benin, but Nigeria will have the favour of goal difference, and this will happen only if they win by at least 2 goals. Anything other than that simply kills any hope of qualifying.

But it doesn't end at a 2 goal margin win for Nigeria, the Bafana Bafana plays Rwanda for their final fixture. South Africa who should have been leading this group confidently if they hadn't been docked 3 points by FIFA for fielding an ineligible player against Lesotho, Sporting News reported. But now they have to fight for the top 1 spot that would have already been theirs if not for the unfortunate incident.

A win against Rwanda would put South Africa back at an untouchable 1st place with 18 points which Nigeria has no hope of attaining with just one fixture left. This puts the Super Eagles at a difficult spot as they not only have to take a 2 goal win against Benin, but they have to hope that the Rwandans will be a formidable opponents for South Africa either stealing a draw or a win.

On paper, this route is the most feasible. But CAF’s recent rule change adds a second pathway to North America — the playoffs. Originally this was restricted to the best 4 second placed teams in all groups. But Under this new system

which came to be as a result of Eritrea’s withdrawal, only points made against the 3rd, 4th and 5th position will be used to calculate the standings and decide who will qualify for the playoffs.

This is done to promote transparency and fairness as Group E now only has 5 teams and this somehow creates an opportunity for Nigeria only if they win.

It is a tense scenario, but one Nigerians have come to accept with cautious optimism. As both matches will be played simultaneously, the stakes could not be higher. The mission is clear: the Super Eagles must win by two goals and hope the Rwandans rise to the occasion. For millions of Nigerians, it will be a night of football and faith — wearing the green and white not just in support, but in hope that destiny still favours the brave.