Former Nigeria international Victor Ikpeba has warned that the 2026 World Cup playoff will present a formidable challenge for the Super Eagles.
Nigeria sealed their place in the playoff round after dismantling Benin Republic 4–0 in their final Group C fixture at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, on Tuesday night.
Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen bagged a hat-trick, while substitute Frank Onyeka also found the net, as the three-time African champions rounded off their group campaign in style.
Ikpeba voiced his dissatisfaction that the Super Eagles were unable to clinch an automatic qualification spot. “People are disappointed. We should top our group with the potential we have,” he told SuperSport.
He added: “I can’t wait for the playoff. The games with Gabon and Cameroon are spicy. These are the great derbies in African football. If we have to play Cameroon, that is another struggle, another spicy game. It’s not going to come easy, in this playoff, no.”
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Despite acknowledging the magnitude of the task ahead, Ikpeba expressed optimism that Nigeria could navigate their way through with the right mindset. “I wish our boys well. All the best of luck, and if they get to these games with the same mentality, I think we will get through it,” said the former Monaco striker.
The playoffs will be hosted in Morocco from Thursday, 13 November to Sunday, 16 November. The victor of the playoff will progress to the intercontinental stage, where they will compete against five other nations.
Editorial
The stark truth staring the Super Eagles squarely in the face is this: Africa’s elite is seldom forgiving, and the playoff crucible is where reputations are forged or shattered. That Nigeria stumbled short of direct qualification is no small blemish, especially given the lofty aspirations that accompany the green and white.
When one reflects on the continental hierarchy, the names Gabon and Cameroon are not mere afterthoughts. These are squads steeped in continental gravitas, capable of snatching a result when you least expect. The “spicy” duels Ikpeba alludes to are not hyperbole but a reminder: African football thrives on intensity, moments sideways to logic, and raw emotion.
Yet for all the inevitability of hardship, the Super Eagles still carry underappreciated assets. Osimhen’s mercurial form his hat-trick against Benin is but the latest exemplar offers an attacking fulcrum few defences relish. And in Onyeka, a substitute’s goal signals squad depth that might yet separate survival from elimination.
But beyond individual brilliance, what Nigeria must summon is resilience. Playoffs demand a psychological architecture as firm as one’s tactical scheme. The margins are narrow the errors unforgiving. It is here where the character of the team its leadership, its nerve, its ability to respond under duress will be tested more sharply than in any arena prior.
Yes, the path is fraught. But it is not impassable. If the Super Eagles approach this playoff round with clarity of purpose, steel in their hearts, and a refusal to flinch, they remain far from the also-rans. In every knockout juncture of football history, the audacious persist. Nigeria cannot now afford anything less.
Did You Know?
- Nigeria has never qualified for the World Cup via the intercontinental playoff route all three previous World Cup appearances (1994, 1998, 2002) were secured in the standard African qualification rounds.
- Victor Osimhen is the first Nigerian to score a hat-trick in a World Cup qualifying match since Rashidi Yekini achieved one in 1993.
- Cameroon and Nigeria have met in World Cup qualification or playoff contexts on multiple occasions, including their famous “Battle of Lagos” in the 1960s a rivalry steeped in geopolitics as much as football.
- Gabon’s most prolific scorer in national team history is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who recently expressed public confidence in disrupting Nigeria’s playoff ambitions.
- Morocco, the host nation for the playoff round, previously hosted the African final round of World Cup qualifiers in 1994, becoming one of the early African venues to stage continent-wide fixtures at such scale.
