Nigeria are ranked third in Africa and 30th in the world, but the Super Eagles are struggling to take off in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers as the West Africans have stalled in their opening four games.
The Super Eagles were held by minnows Lesotho, Zimbabwe before again dropping points at home to South Africa.
This before a shock defeat against Benin, who thumped the Super Eagles 2-1 on Monday night, leaving Nigeria at a disadvantaged position.
On paper, however, Nigeria were expected to dominate Group C alongside Bafana Bafana, who are ranked 10th in Africa and 59th in the world.
Bafana mentor, Hugo Broos has insisted that the qualifiers will go down to the wire, as lowly-ranked Lesotho currently lead the standings with five points from three games.
“Normally when you see the draw of the group, you know that Nigeria will be your biggest opponent to be first in the group,” Broos said.
“Nigeria have played three draws and have played two home games and that’s not really good. You need to win your home games first and then see if you can take some points outside.
READ: Bafana Bafana mentor Hugo Broos underscores importance for VAR in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers
Touch down Abidjan! #soarsupereagles pic.twitter.com/iFi2p6FC7w
— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) June 9, 2024
The former Africa Cup of Nations winning tactician is of the view that the gap between the so-called smaller nations and the continent’s superpowers is narrowing.
“Our group is not a group of top countries, but it is a tricky group. You saw the results now after three games, it is unbelievable. The biggest change, even in AFCON, is the little countries progressed a lot,” Broos explained.
“Teams that were in the second and third round, you normally never expect in the AFCON and this is the difficulty in this group.
“This is the problem for all the teams. Any team can take points from any other team. It will be tough until the last match, I don’t think it will be decided early,” the Belgian mentor said.
South Africa have not been in the World Cup since hosting it in 2010. However, there is a certain sense of optimism and belief under Broos, who brought joy to Mzansi when Bafana finished third in the 2023 AFCON.
Bafana will look to hit top gear against Zimbabwe at the Free State Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Kick-off is at 18:00.
Clip from our training yesterday; which was open to the public. So much ❤️ #BafanaPride #WCQualifiers pic.twitter.com/uBVhMyRJhR
— Bafana Bafana (@BafanaBafana) June 10, 2024
You must be logged in to post a comment Login