• As Benin Republic beat Rwanda 1-0
• Lesotho defeat Zimbabwe 2-0
The Super Eagles will have to dig deep in their quest to overpower Coach Gernot Rohr and his Benin Republic team as match Day 4 of the 2026 World Cup qualifier holds on Monday in Abidjan.
Benin Republic, on Thursday night, defeated Group C table toppers, Rwanda, 1-0 in Abidjan, their adopted home ground to overtake South Africa and Nigeria in the group. That was before yesterday’s cracker between the Super Eagles and visiting Bafana Bafana of South Africa at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
The win by Gernot Rohr, a former coach of the Super Eagles, temporarily changed Group C table as Benin moved from their initial fourth position to the second. Rohr had boasted before Thursday’s tie against Rwanda that their main focus was to cage the Super Eagles on Tuesday to put his team in a better position of securing the group ticket to the 2026 World Cup to be co-hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico.
In their tie against Rwanda on Thursday, Benin’s goal came in the 37th minute through Douko Dodo. Both Rwanda and Benin Republic have four points, but Rwanda have a better goal difference.
However, that result is good for Nigeria if the Super Eagles can get a win in Tuesday’s game in Abidjan.
Meanwhile, the Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualification series took a major twist yesterday evening, as Lesotho took leadership of the pack just before the Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana took to the pitch in Uyo.
The team, which the Super Eagles found difficult to beat and had to labour to a 1-1 draw last November, yesterday defeated Zimbabwe 2-0 away in Johannesburg.
The two goals came from Rethabile Rasethuntsa in the 21st minute and Jane Thabantso 10 minutes later.
With the result, Nigeria further dropped to the fifth position in a six-team group just before the clash in Uyo.
Earlier in the late evening matches of Match Day 03 on Thursday. five interesting battles ensued across the continent, with Guinea causing a major upset against Algeria in Algiers, as Ghana came from behind to edge Mali in a closely contested tie in Bamako.
Senegal looked to have secured all three points at home before DR Congo disappointed the former African champions with a late equaliser, while Egypt overcame Burkina Faso, thanks to a brace by Mahmoud Trezeguet.
