The path ahead for Nigeria is fraught with challenges. In addition to their precarious standing in the World Cup qualifying group, the Eagles are uncertain about who will guide them through the upcoming qualifiers, as the Nigeria Football Federation has yet to appoint a permanent coach for the team.
After securing a spot in the 2025 AFCON, it is anticipated that interim coach Austin Eguavoen will revert to his role as the Technical Director of the NFF. Despite calls from many Nigerians for a permanent appointment for Eguavoen, the federation has not made any official statements regarding this matter.
Meanwhile, the NFF is reportedly on the lookout for a competent yet affordable foreign coach, reflecting their preference for foreign management. It remains to be seen whether Eguavoen will continue to lead the team into 2025.
As for the World Cup qualifiers, the Super Eagles must secure victories in all their remaining matches while hoping for favorable outcomes from other teams in the group to hinder South Africa’s progress.
The qualifiers will resume in March 2025, with South Africa set to host Lesotho and Nigeria preparing to face Rwanda.
The Super Eagles experienced a tumultuous end to the 2025 AFCON qualifying campaign after a promising start, suffering their first defeat in the final rounds against Rwanda, the same team they will meet again in March when the World Cup qualifiers resume.
Eguavoen has downplayed the significance of that defeat, assuring that it will not negatively impact their World Cup qualifying efforts.
Nigeria currently finds itself in a disappointing fifth position in the qualifying series, with a significant point deficit of three points, trailing South Africa by four points and having six matches remaining.
Rwanda leads the group with seven points and a goal difference of plus two, followed closely by South Africa, also with seven points but a plus one goal difference.
Benin is in third place, sharing seven points but with a goal difference of zero, while Lesotho holds fourth place with six points. Zimbabwe is the only team below Nigeria, making it a challenging road ahead for Nigeria to secure qualification.
Bafana Bafana's coach, Hugo Broos, is expressing confidence in his team's prospects for securing a spot in the 2026 World Cup, positioning them favorably against Nigeria and other competitors in Group C. Broos, whose team topped Group K in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers for Morocco 2025, believes that South Africa's recent performance provides them with a competitive advantage.
Reflecting on their development, he stated, “While we are making progress, we must not become complacent. We are gradually evolving into a strong team.” He added, “This progress instills the confidence we need as we aim for World Cup qualification. I am optimistic about our chances; if South Africa is to qualify, it is because we possess quality and a solid team. However, we must still achieve this goal.”
Since their semifinal exit against Nigeria in the Cote d’Ivoire 2023 AFCON, South Africa's Bafana have remained unbeaten. In their most recent World Cup qualifier, they drew 1-1 with Nigeria in Uyo, a match where they nearly secured a victory.
Broos intends to leverage South Africa's AFCON momentum to advance through the World Cup qualifiers, aiming to secure maximum points in their upcoming matches against Lesotho and Zimbabwe, which he believes will solidify their qualification.