After battling back-to-back draws in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Nigeria and South Africa faced off again, this time in the eSports arena.
The result? South Africa grabbed the last qualifying spot for the FIFAe World Cup, knocking Nigeria out.
Nigeria now find itself looking up to South Africa in two separate competitions.
In the CAF World Cup qualifiers, South Africa leads Group C with 17 points, six ahead of Nigeria, who have 11 points after eight games, as seen on FIFA.com.
The Bloemfontein draw left Nigeria needing two wins from their final games, and even then, they must hope South Africa and Benin slip up.
The 1-1 result in Bloemfontein in the World Cup qualifiers did not just sting on the scoreboard. Nigerians have voiced anger over the condition of the pitch at the Free State Stadium, which left Wilfred Ndidi and Ola Aina nursing injuries.
Supporters believe SAFA deliberately chose the stadium to unsettle the visitors, calling it an unfair move.
What’s adding fuel to the fire is FIFA’s silence on the possible three-point deduction for South Africa, although that case has now been opened by the football governing body.
Teboho Mokoena was reportedly ineligible for their 2-0 win over Lesotho in March, but no ruling has been made.
If South Africa is docked three points, it could revive Nigeria’s chances of grabbing an automatic ticket to the 2026 World Cup.
Away from the pitch, Nigeria’s eFootball team also suffered heartbreak. South Africa edged them out in Group B of the African qualifiers, finishing with 24 points to Nigeria’s 21.
That fourth-place finish sent Bafana Bafana to the quarterfinals, where they will face Morocco.
Nigeria, on the other hand, are heading home empty-handed, as the group was topped by Senegal with 37 points, followed by Egypt on 34 and Madagascar with 28.
According to Konami, only two African nations will make it to the finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, later this year, and Nigeria will not be one of them.
𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛 𝗔𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗔 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗙𝗜𝗙𝗔𝗲 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗥 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗦
— Sahil Ebrahim (@sahil_e_) September 19, 2025
South Africa qualified just ahead of Nigeria in the 4th spot in Group B of the African qualifiers for the @FIFAe World Cup. 🇿🇦
They will now face Morocco in the Quarter Finals.🇲🇦 pic.twitter.com/saOab69D8L
