The battle of optimism and pessimism is on between Nigeria and Benin Republic after both countries were drawn in the same group for the 2025 AFCON qualifiers on Thursday in South Africa, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Fresh from beating Nigeria 2-1 in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in June, the Cheetahs and the Super Eagles are drawn in Group D of the series, which also has Libya and Rwanda, another team in Nigeria’s current 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying group.
Next year’s AFCON will be held from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026 following the decision of CAF to adjust the schedule of the tournament due to the congested FIFA calendar.
The six-match qualifying series has been spread over the FIFA windows in September, October and November, with two matches in each seven-day window. The comprehensive fixtures are expected to be released by CAF soon.
The Eagles’ 2-1 defeat in the hands of Benin Republic, who are managed by former Nigeria coach Genort Rohr was the last assignment the Eagles embarked on.
It proved to be a damaging blow for the Eagles’ World Cup chances, leaving them with three points from four games and fifth in Group C of the World Cup qualifiers. Coupled with another bad result in the last window, Finidi George also resigned as Eagles coach, and the Nigeria Football Federation are still hunting for a foreign technical adviser to replace the new Rivers United coach.
Rwanda on the other hand are currently top of Nigeria’s group in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers with seven points, same as South Africa and Benin. Nigeria and Rwanda are yet to meet on the road to the USA, Canada and Mexico 2026 but will meet over two legs in the 2025 AFCON before the end of the year.
