The Super Eagles have been handed an opportunity to avenge their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying loss to the Cheetahs of Benin Republic led by former manager Gernot Rohr in Abidjan, last month, with both teams again paired in the same group in the race for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers that commences in two months.

Their FIFA World Cup qualifying reverse fixture will go down on the final day of the qualification series (October 6 – 14, 2025), but both teams have much earlier battles to fight later this year as they strive to be among the 24 countries that will participate in the 35th Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for Morocco, December 21, 2025 – January 18, 2026.

At the draw ceremony conducted in Johannesburg, South Africa on Thursday, July 4, 2024, the Super Eagles also drew the Amavubi of Rwanda – another team in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying group, and which they next play in the series in March 2025 – as well as the Mediterranean Knights of Libya. All four teams are in Group D.

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.

GROUP A: Tunisia, Madagascar, Comoros, The Gambia

GROUP B: Morocco, Gabon, Central African Republic, Lesotho

GROUP C: Egypt, Cape Verde, Mauritania, Botswana

GROUP D: Nigeria, Benin Republic, Libya, Rwanda

GROUP E: Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Togo, Liberia

GROUP F: Ghana, Angola, Sudan, Niger Republic

GROUP G: Cote d’Ivoire, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Chad

GROUP H: DR Congo, Guinea, Tanzania, Ethiopia

GROUP I: Mali, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Eswatini

GROUP J: Cameroon, Namibia, Kenya, Zimbabwe

GROUP K: South Africa, Uganda, Congo, South Sudan

GROUP L: Senegal, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Burundi