South Africa and Nigeria will face off in the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers after the two African giants were drawn in Group C on Thursday’s draw.
- The 2026 World Cup draw was conducted on Thursday
- Bafana were drawn against Nigeria
- Zimbabwe, Benin, Rwanda and Lesotho also make up Group C
WHAT HAPPENED? Abidjan hosted the draw for the next World Cup qualifiers and Bafana now know their opponents. After avoiding fellow Pot 2 seeds like Ghana, Zambia, Burkina Faso, DR Congo and Guinea, South Africa were drawn in Group C.
They will meet Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Benin, Rwanda and Lesotho in Group C as they push for the first World Cup appearance since 2010.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: To get to the World Cup to be hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, Bafana will have to navigate through this group with Nigeria being the high-profile team.
It is a tough test for Bafana coach Hugo Broos who failed to guide the team to the last World Cup finals. The Belgian is hard-pressed to lead the team to the next global tournament after helping South Africa to a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations finals as his first qualification for a major competition while in charge of the team.
WHAT NEXT FOR BAFANA? Having completed their 2023 Afcon qualification campaign, South Africa are currently participating at the Cosafa Cup and will have to look for opponents for September’s Fifa period.
Nigeria will complete their qualification campaign against Sao Tome e Principle in September.
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