Super Eagles seem to have gotten a lifeline to make it to the 2026 FIFA World Cup with the official statement from the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The three-time AFCON winners are preparing to take on the Crocodiles of Lesotho in matchday 9 at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in South Africa on Friday, October 10, before facing the Cheetahs of Benin Republic at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, four days later.

The chances of Nigeria topping the CAF qualification group C are very slim, given the current standing, as the Super Eagles can only qualify for the World Cup by winning their last two matches.

The first lifeline for Nigeria can through after FIFA sanctioned the Bafana Bafana of South Africa with the deduction of three points and three goals for fielding an ineligible player against Lesotho on March 21.

CAF give Super Eagles boost

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has updated the qualification criteria for the 2026 FIFA World Cup African Qualifiers following Eritrea’s withdrawal from the campaign.

According to Nigeria Football, CAF outlined revised procedures to ensure fairness in selecting the best four runners-up across all groups after Eritrea’s exit left one group with fewer teams.

In a circular signed by Samson Adamu, CAF Director of Tournament and Events, Eritrea's withdrawal from Group E marks the first change in the Africa qualifiers for the expanded 48 teams attending the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The statement read:

"To determine the best four runners-up of all nine groups, all results of the bottom-ranked team of each group or the withdrawn team will not be taken into consideration when comparing the best runners-up.

"The criteria to determine the best runners-up after excluding the results against the bottom-ranked team or the withdrawn team are the same criteria mentioned in the regulations of the FIFA World Cup 2026 for the preliminary competition in article 11-5 (where applicable)."