Nigeria’s hopes in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers have been revived after FIFA handed Lesotho a 3-0 victory over South Africa for fielding an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena. The ruling means Group C has been blown wide open, with Benin Republic now sitting top of the table and Nigeria back in contention.
Interestingly, Benin are coached by former Super Eagles manager, German tactician Gernot Rohr – who was sacked by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in December 2021, just before the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). Now, under Rohr, Benin are surprisingly group leaders, and with a couple of matches to go, the race for the group’s single automatic World Cup ticket is now likely to go down to the wire.
Benin Republic travel to Rwanda and Nigeria in the final two round of qualifiers between October 10 and 14, while South Africa faces an away game against Zimbabwe before hosting Rwanda.
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee ruled that South Africa breached competition rules by playing Mokoena in their March 21 clash with Lesotho. The match, which had originally ended 0-0, has now been awarded to Lesotho with a 3-0 scoreline.
Following the ruling, The Group C table now looks like this:
- Benin – 14 pts (+4)
- South Africa – 14 pts (+3)
- Nigeria – 11 pts (+2)
- Rwanda – 11 pts (0)
- Lesotho – 9 pts (–3)
- Zimbabwe – 4 pts
With just a few matches left to play, the Super Eagles remain three points off the top, while Rohr’s Benin are now within touching distance of a historic world cup qualification.
Aside from the three points deduction, FIFA ordered the South African Football Association (SAFA) to pay a fine of CHF 10,000, while Mokoena received a warning. SAFA has ten days to appeal the ruling before the FIFA Appeal Committee.
