World Cup Qualifier Preview: Nigeria v South Africa
2 min read
By Sportsgister
Nigeria will be gunning for all three points from their 2026 World Cup qualifier with South Africa today.
Super Eagles of Nigeria drew against Lesotho and Zimbabwe in the first two matches played in the group.
Nigeria will be without injured African player of the year Victor Osimhen.
The rivalry is expected to be fierce after the two sides came face to face in the semi-finals of the recent Africa Cup of Nations where the Super Eagles emerged as winners on penalties after the match had ended in a 1-1 draw.
In 15 games played between the two nations, the Super Eagles have won eight games while Bafana have two wins, alongside five draws.
But while Nigeria are a team in transition with Finidi George having been handed the Nigeria reins following Jose Peseiro’s departure after AFCON, Bafana are a settled unit with Hugo Broos in his third year with the team.
Nigeria also woke up to news that Daniel Amokachi had walked away from his recently announced post as second assistant.
And after two rounds of qualifying fixtures in Group C, Bafana are in second place on three points (from one win and one loss), one point behind leaders Rwanda, while Nigeria are third with two points after two draws.
Super Eagles gaffer Finidi George said he has planned well for the match
“We have trained well, the players understand the task. I trust my players and their quality. It’s a must win game,” Finidi during the pre-match interview.
“The AFCON win against South Africa is gone, this is a new game. We have our plans.”
Similarly,Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali Said “There is no pressure. We will just take the game one at a time.
“We just have to put our thoughts together and go for a win against South Africa and approach the next game with Benin Republic in similar way.”
The game is scheduled to kick off at 20h00 at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on Friday.
Sedara Philip is a Sports writer, an administrator,Journalist,and editor
