Nigeria loses to 2-1 to Benin to dim their World Cup qualification hopes

The Super Eagles of Nigeria returned to one of the locations where they ran on their way to finishing second at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in January to face a familiar foe in Benin Republic led by their former manager, Gernot Rohr.

Hampered by the lack of a FIFA standard stadium in Benin Republic the Cheetahs of Benin hosted the Super Eagles of Nigeria on Monday at the Felix Houphouet Boigny stadium in Ivory Coast, one of the venues of the African Cup of Nations earlier this year.

Nigeria went into that game searching for their first victory of the 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign. They had played a 1-1 draw with South Africa on Friday, in addition to their first two matches, which also ended in a stalemate against Lesotho and Zimbabwe.

Club Brugge’s Midfielder Raphael Onyedika opened the scoring for the visitors midway through the first half, but the Benin Republic immediately responded to level and eventually took the lead just before halftime.

With a 2-1 lead going into the break, Benin Republic resisted all matter of attacks from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations losing finalist to secure a very important victory that boosts the chances of Benin Republic while putting Nigeria’s chances of making the 2026 FIFA World Cup in USA Canada and Mexico in jeopardy.

Nigeria has just three points from three draws after their first four games for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier, while Gernot Rohr’s Benin temporarily tops Group C with seven points. The next match day in the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be in March 2025, when the Super Eagles travel to Kigali to face Rwanda and then host Zimbabwe in Nigeria.

Nigeria missed out on the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and will hope to get the needed results in those games to avoid a repeat.