By Asuelimen Osasuyi
Super Eagles of Nigeria Thursday defeated Gabon 4-1 in extra time to reach Sunday’s CAF 2026 World Cup Playoffs.
.
Nigeria qualified for the mini-tournament as one of the best runners-up in the main qualifying series.
The Super Eagles finished behind South Africa who grabbed the automatic ticket from Group C.
In the playoff against Gabon on Thursday in Morocco, the Super Eagles dominated the early part of the game, but failed to find the goal that their dominance deserved.
The Eagles were fortunate not to concede a penalty, after Bright Osayi-Samuel’s tug on the shirt was scrutinized through the VAR pitchside monitor. But the referee decided not to award a spot-kick.
Osimhen could have won the game for Nigeria in added time, but incredibly he scoffed his shot wide off target when only face-to-face with the Gabon goalkeeper.
Substitute Chidera Ejuke restored Nigeria’s lead in the 97th minute, when he put away a superb through ball by Wilfred Ndidi.
In the 78th minute of the match, with Adams Akor opened the scoring after he pounced on a loose ball to score into an empty net.
But Gabon levelled 10 minutes later, as Mario Lemina’s deflected effort crept in past Stanley Nwabali.
Early in extra time, Chidera Ejuke finished off Wilfred Ndidi’s pass to restore Nigeria’s lead, before Victor Osimhen added a brace.
Nigeria will now face the winner between DR Congo and Cameroon, to claim the ticket to represent Africa at the intercontinental playoffs in March 2026.
Gabon, on the other hand, saw their dream of qualifying for the World Cup come to an end. The Panthers have turned their attention to the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals scheduled to be hosted by Morocco between 21 December 2025 and 18 January 2026.
