Group C of the 2026 world cup qualifiers is probably the only group where three teams go into the final round of games with the hope of finishing top and book a place at the tournament in USA, Mexico and Canada.
Nigeria who are in third place will face Benin Republic who are top in the group in their final game. They are presently three points behind going into the final two games.
Second place South Africa who were favourite until losing three points for fielding an ineligible player against Lesotho in March, are joint top and separated by goal difference from Benin.
All three teams head into the final round of games with certain concerns about their team with Nigeria top of it all with as many as seven players facing difficulties in securing entry visa into South Africa, where they will be up against Lesotho on Friday.
The situation will disrupt preparation for the very important game as the affected players will only be available for one training session before the game.
South Africa will also go into the games with a huge worry with midfield star Relebohile Mofokeng set to miss both games, as confirmed by head coach Hugo Broos who has already named his replacement.
Hugo Broos confirmed that Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Mduduzi Shabalala has been called up as Mofokeng’s replacement.
“We replaced him with Shabalala. Second, there are two players who have not arrived because they played yesterday , that’s (Lyle) Foster and (Sphephelo) Sithole. They will arrive tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, and in the afternoon, we will be complete,” said Broos.
Meanwhile for table toppers Benin Republic, the coach Gernot Rohr is worried over his team’s lack of discipline which has put nine players on the edge of missing the all important game against Nigeria in Uyo.
The players on the edge are Sessi d’Almeida, Yohan Roche, Jodel Dossou, Rodrigue Kossi, Mohamed Tijani, Samadou Attidjikou, Imourane Hassane, Junior Olaitan and Cédric Hountondji.
“If a player is suspended for a protest or a bad-tempered gesture, he will face a fine,” Rohr warned.
“Above all, we are very strict. We don’t want to be affected by this kind of lack of discipline.”
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
