This week in the land of legendary Didier Drogba, the Super Eagles will know the five teams who they will attempt to leapfrog in order to snatch one of the 2026 FIFA World Cup tickets on offer when the draw is staged.
Bitter West African foes the Black Stars of Ghana, who denied Nigeria a place at last year’s World Cup in Qatar, could again attempt to do the same should they be drawn against the Super Eagles Eagles on the road to the next World Cup to be jointly hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico.
Ghana brought Nigeria to heel in the highly charged so-called ‘The Jollof Derby’ on the archaic and unacceptable away goals’ rule in March 2022 to qualify for the first mundial to grace the grasses of the Middle East.
The Super Eagles are one of nine top seeds at Wednesday’s draw based on the latest FIFA Rankings.
The other top seeds are Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Mali, Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire and they will all head a qualifying group.
Meaning, these top-ranked teams will avoid each other in their quest to fly their flags at the expanded Mundial in North America three years from now.
Ghana, South Africa, Zambia, and DR Congo are among the second seeded teams and will have to come up against these top seeds in the qualifying tournament, which will kick off in November.
Besides the nine group winners automatically advancing to the World Cup, the best four runners-up will play off for an additional slot that will be determined in an inter-continental tournament.
Seedings for 2026 World Cup Qualifiers (CAF)
Pot 1: Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt
Pot 2: Ghana, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Guinea, Zambia, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea
Pot 3: Angola, Benin, Kenya, Mauritania, Congo, Uganda, Madagascar, Guinea Bissau, Namibia
Pot 4: Mozambique, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Togo, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic, Malawi, Libya
Pot 5: Niger, Comoros, Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Botswana, Liberia
Pot 6: Lesotho, South Sudan, Mauritius, Chad, Sao Tome, Djibouti, Seychelles, Eritrea, Somalia
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