Nigeria's road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup didn't end the way the Super Eagles hoped. Despite the newly expanded format handing Africa more places than ever before, Nigeria failed to make it through, falling to DR Congo on penalties in the African play-off final. It was a painful exit for a squad packed with talent from Europe's top leagues — but the wider African story since then has turned into one of the best in World Cup history.
Nigeria's biggest problem was dropping points it shouldn't have. Three separate 1-1 draws — against Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa — followed by a defeat to Benin, put the Super Eagles on the back foot before the play-offs even started. They recovered enough to reach the African play-off final by beating Gabon, but a 1-1 draw with DR Congo went to penalties, and Nigeria lost 4-3. Needing that route in the first place said everything about how the group stage had already gone wrong.
Africa ended up sending a record ten nations to North America — nearly double the usual allocation of five. Nine qualified directly from the CAF group stage:
DR Congo took the tenth spot the long way round, beating Nigeria in the African play-off before winning the inter-confederation play-off tournament in Mexico to seal their place in Group K.
Originally published by NotJustOk.