Eric Chelle, the coach of the Super Eagles, and Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey, and Samuel Chukwueze of Fulham, Tolu Arokodare of Wolves, and Olakunle Olusegun, a new player, as well as some officials from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), arrived in Rabat yesterday to get ready for the African playoff for the 2026 World Cup, which starts in Morocco on Thursday.
The Super Eagles’ training commenced yesterday at the Rive Hotel in Rabat. Some of the players are anticipated to arrive in Rabat later in the day. The Guardian says that the rest are anticipated to arrive today.
The NFF says that the team will start getting ready for the first game against Gabon today, when all the invited players are anticipated to arrive.
Nigeria, Gabon, DR Congo, and Cameroon are in a four-team playoff. The victor will move on to an inter-confederation playoff with five other teams from across the world.
Nigeria will play Gabon in the first game, and Cameroon will play DR Congo in the second game. The victors of both games will meet on November 16 to choose the African representative in the inter-confederation competition.
FIFA said over the weekend that the draw for the European play-offs and the inter-confederation play-offs for the 2026 World Cup will take place on November 20 at its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
FIFA said in a statement that the draw will start with the World Cup play-offs and then move on to the European play-offs. This will help decide which countries will compete in the 2026 World Cup finals, which will be held in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.
The draws will show the 22 countries that are competing—six through the play-off tournament and 16 through European play-off matches—how to get to the first-ever 48-team FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Canada, Mexico, and the United States from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
The draws will happen only four days after the African playoffs end. This will be another busy time as the number of countries who will compete in the 23rd FIFA World Cup continues to grow.
Twenty-eight teams have already qualified for next year’s historic tournament. This month, 14 more nations—three from CONCACAF and 11 from UEFA—will qualify for the finals through confederation qualifying.
The November international window will determine which teams from Asia, Africa, and North and Central America will join Bolivia (CONMEBOL) and New Caledonia (the OFC) at the six-nation FIFA Play-Off Tournament. It will also determine the 16 countries that will compete in the European Play-Offs during the international match window from March 23 to 31, 2026.
The next FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking will come out on November 19, 2025, to make sure that both drawings may be done according to the right rules.
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