The Tremendous Eagles could have been provided contemporary hope of their bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after Eritrea withdrew from the 2026 World Cup qualifying sequence.
Their resolution to tug out leaves solely 5 groups in Group E: Morocco, Zambia, Congo, Tanzania and Niger.
Eritrea withdrew earlier than the Confederation of African Soccer, CAF, started their qualifiers.
This leaves Group E with simply 5 international locations, whereas the opposite eight teams have six.
To keep up equity when rating the very best second-placed groups, as beforehand completed in 2012, CAF is anticipated to exclude outcomes in opposition to bottom-placed groups within the six-team teams.
If that rule is enforced, Nigeria may gain advantage. Eric Chelle’s males dropped factors in opposition to Zimbabwe and Lesotho.
Nigeria occupy third spot in Group C behind Benin Republic and South Africa, with 11 factors after eight rounds of fixtures.
The Tremendous Eagles have been held to attracts by Zimbabwe and Lesotho of their first conferences, whereas shedding to Benin and South Africa.
Nigeria, nonetheless, should win their final two fixtures in opposition to Lesotho and Benin to face a practical probability of ending high of the group or staying alive within the playoff race.
Solely the 4 greatest second-placed international locations will advance to the CAF playoff stage, with the general winner qualifying for an intercontinental playoff.
