Members of the Nigeria Football Federation have arrived in Cote d’Ivoire for the draws for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which will take place later today, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
The Nigerian contingent were led by the president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau. They will witness the draws which will see Nigeria go in as one of the seeded teams.
It means they will avoid playing any of the top 8 teams in Africa according to the latest FIFA rankings and they are Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Cameroon, Mali and Cote d’Ivoire. Traditional teams like Ghana, South Africa, Congo Dr, Ghana, Guinea, Zambia and Gabon all missed out by virtue of their spot in the latest rankings.
Nigeria will go into the draws with doubts surrounding who will lead the team to the next Africa Cup of Nations as well as when the qualifiers starts, with the NFF yet to name a replacement for Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro following the expiration of his deal.
Peseiro’s one year deal expired last month and despite reports suggesting that he will be offered fresh terms, nothing has been advanced in that regards and all talks about replacing the coach still hasn’t seen the light of the day.
His spot in the entourage for the draws was given to a board member of the NFF due to the impasse over his role as coach of the team. The board member will stand in as coach of the Super Eagles if there is a need during the course of the event.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman