Nigeria’s ongoing resurrection in qualifying for next summer’s FIFA World Cup beggars belief. After six matchdays, the Super Eagles looked dead and buried, winning just one game and dropping points to the likes of group winners South Africa, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe, as well as losing on the road against Benin. Since then, though, the Nigerians have roared back to life.
Victories home and away against Rwanda, coupled with an away draw against Bafana Bafana, saw them back in contention; however, they still needed to beat Benin by two clear goals in their final qualifier in order to secure a playoff spot. With the pressure on, the Super Eagles duly emerged with a thumping 4-0 victory courtesy of a spellbinding hat trick from talismanic striker Victor Osimhen. That result secured a spot in the playoffs, and Nigeria picked up where they left off.
After a last-minute equalizer from Gabon’s Mario Lemina, Nigeria had to settle for a 1-1 draw in their CAF playoff semifinal. In extra time, however, Osimhen came to the fore once more, netting a brace alongside Chidera Ejuke’s strike to secure a 4-1 extra time victory and safe progression to the next round. Now, the interconfederational playoff beckons.
While Nigeria is simply hoping for a spot at the World Cup, a number of the planet’s big boys are aiming to leave MetLife Stadium next July with the trophy. Even though the tournament is still seven months away, online betting sites already have their favorites earmarked, and it’s the usual suspects who have top billing. The latest live betting odds at Bovada currently have reigning European Champions Spain positioned as the 4/1 frontrunners, with England and France their nearest contenders at 13/2.
But for the Super Eagles, simply punching their tickets to North America next summer is the only order of business. So, who will they have to face and defeat in the inter-confederationalplayoffs to make their dream a reality? Let’s take a look.
Bolivia’s hopes of reaching the World Cup for the first time since 1994 are alive after a famous final matchday in South American qualifying. La Verde headed into the final round of fixtures needing to beat heavyweights Brazil at home, while simultaneously hoping that Venezuela would be beaten by the already qualified Colombia.
The Venezuelans duly lost on their home patch, throwing away 1-0 and 2-1 leads to ultimately suffer a 6-3 drubbing after four goals from Colombian striker Luis Suarez. Suddenly, Bolivia found the power in their hands, and they managed to secure a famous 1-0 victory against the Selecao, thanks to Miguel Terceros’ penalty on the stroke of halftime. The Bolivians will harbor genuine hopes of making it through the inter-confederational playoff, but by the same token, Nigeria will fancy their chances of beating the South American outfit.
Oceania minnows New Caledonia are also confirmed in the playoffs. They finished as runners-up to New Zealand in the OFC section of qualifying, suffering a 3-0 defeat in the final round after goals from Michael Boxall, Kosta Barbarouses, and Elijah Just in Auckland. Ranked 161st in the world, it would be a huge surprise to see them reach the World Cup for the first time ever.
The United Arab Emirates and Iraq will face off in an Asian section playoff, with the winner moving on to the inter-confederational round. Both sides have qualified for the tournament just once before, with the former appearing at Italia ’90 and the latter four years prior in Mexico. They finished ahead of the likes of China and 2022 hosts Qatar in order to make it this far, and they will fancy their chances of progressing should they make it to the inter-confederationalstage.
Two teams from the Concacaf region will also head to the playoffs, but currently, it’s anyone’s guess as to who those two teams will be. Jamaica is one of the favorites, as their recent 1-1 draw away at Trinidad and Tobago left them at the mercy of Curacao in the race for Group B’s sole automatic qualifying spot. The Reggae Boyz must beat the current table toppers to progress automatically, and then it would be Curacao heading to the playoffs.
Panama is on the other side, currently sitting in a playoff spot; however, they are level on points with Suriname ahead of the final round of fixtures. Any one of three Group C teams – Haiti, Honduras, and Costa Rica – could also qualify. Those three are separated by just one point, with one of them guaranteed automatic qualification, while the other two need to hope they amass more points than the other two second-place finishers to secure a playoff spot. To put it bluntly, the Concacaf section is currently wide open ahead of the final round of fixtures.
