Nigeria qualifies for AFCON, holds Benin Republic

The Super Eagles of Nigeria qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations in 2025 before even kicking a ball on Thursday after Libya won 1-0 away at Rwanda to throw the second qualification spot open to the remaining three teams in group D.

Nigeria needed just a point from their last two games of the qualification series, with one of them being Thursday’s game against Benin Republic in Ivory Coast, but all that didn’t matter by kick-off at least for the Super Eagles.

Libya’s 1-0 win in Kigali earlier that afternoon meant that Nigeria has now qualified for a 21st appearance at the AFCON, having made its debut at the biennial competition in 1963 in Ghana.

The three-time AFCON title winners have also finished second place five times, with their last AFCON win coming in South Africa in 2013 after wins in Nigeria in 1980 and Tunisia in 1994. They also are the team with the most bronze medals in AFCON history, eight times. 

Nigeria, the last time in Ivory Coast in February 2024, lost to the hosts in the final, where Nigerian skipper William Troost-Ekong was named the tournament MVP.

Meanwhile, Victor Osimhen scored in the final ten minutes as Nigeria drew 1-1 with Benin Republic on Thursday evening, hours after confirming their ticket to the 2025 AFCON in Morocco.

Benin led with a first half header, hoping to seal their respective ticket as well after Rwanda’s loss but Osimhen equalised for Austin Eguavon’s side with ten minutes left to deny the Benin Republic team. 

However, Benin Republic can seal their own qualification when they face Libya on Monday with a win while hoping that Nigeria defeats Rwanda’s senior national team on Monday in Nigeria.

The other teams that have joined the hosts, Morocco, are Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, DR Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, and Uganda.