Nigeria have two huge World Cup qualifiers coming up over the next week, starting with South Africa on Friday.
After two draws in the opening two qualifiers, it is imperative that the Super Eagles do better in this round of fixtures if they want to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
We picked out five things for you to look out for ahead of the fixtures.
Check out the most markets in Nigeria for the Super Eagles vs South Africa right here at Bet9ja!
Osimhen injury
Finidi George will be without talisman Victor Osimhen in his opening competitive fixture, which is far from ideal for the new boss due to how reliable the 25-year-old has been for both club and country, scoring 21 times in 35 international matches. Who will step up to replace the Super Eagles star man?
Lookman and Boniface to step up
In Osimhen’s absence, it is likely that George will turn to Ademola Lookman and Victor Boniface, who were both in superb form during the 2023/24 campaign.
Lookman showed what he can do on the big stage in the Europa League Final when he netted a hat-trick and Boniface chipped in with a whopping 22 goal contributions in 23 Bundesliga games which helped Bayer Leverkusen go unbeaten.
George’s first competitive games in charge
The opening fixture against South Africa will be George’s first competitive fixture as Nigeria boss, but he has overseen two friendlies’ where they beat Ghana and lost to Mali.
Despite not managing a competitive game, George was the Super Eagles assistant for 20 months when Jose Peseiro was in charge so he will already have a connection with the players and know what it takes to win games on the big stage.
Tough task in South Africa
South Africa currently sit second place in Group C as they beat Benin in the opening fixture and lost to top of the group Rwanda in the second, so they will be a tough match up for the Super Eagles on Friday.
In their most recent fixture, South Africa battled it out in a 3-3 draw against a strong Algeria side, and they came from behind twice – they have a clear never say die attitude which George will be well aware of. However, Nigeria got the better of Bafana Bafana in the AFCON semi-finals earlier this year. and will be hoping history repeats itself.
Nigeria to beat South Africa odds: 1.52 (at time of writing) – Bet Here
