Five countries including the continental powerhouses Senegal, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire as well as potential debutants Benin and Gabon will battle on Tuesday night for the final three places from the African qualifying groups for next year’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Three teams will vie for supremacy in Group C where Benin will attempt to book their berth at the expense of Nigeria.
“We still have to do something great against Nigeria,” said Benin coach Gernot Rohr who, during his five years in charge of the squad, steered Nigeria to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
“All is possible for South Africa, Nigeria and us,” Rohr added. “We have our destiny in our hands. This can be a little advantage. We will see.”
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Benin went top of the pool last month when competition organisers Fifa docked South Africa three points and slapped them with a three-goal penalty for fielding an ineligible player in March in the 2-0 win over Lesotho.
Last week, in the penultimate round of games, Benin won 1-0 in Rwanda while South Africa were held to a 0-0 draw by Zimbabwe. Nigeria kept their interest alive with a 2-1 victory over Lesotho.
Nigeria must beat Benin convincingly at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo and hope South Africa fail to defeat Rwanda in Mbombela if they are to top the group and secure automatic qualification.
“We need to focus on our game,” said Nigeria boss Eric Chelle ahead of the clash.
“It’s of no interest to me to look at other parts of the group,” added Nigeria skipper William Troost-Ekong.
“It has felt like we’ve been swimming against the tide during the qualifying campaign but I’ve always said we can qualify and here we are with an opportunity to do so.
“We’ll go into the final game trying to give our best and afterwards we’ll have to be at peace.
“Playing against Benin won’t be easy and they’re led by a coach who knows Nigeria very well,” he added.
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Administrative setback
South Africa looked set fair for the World Cup after eight games. They led Benin by three points and enjoyed a better goal difference.
But Fifa’s sanction changed the complexion of the group. South Africa went from 17 points to 14 points and dropped below Benin on goal difference.
“We don’t have qualification in our hands any more,” rued South Africa boss Hugo Broos.
“We have to be ready for the game against Rwanda, try to win it and then see what happens. Qualification is still possible. We have to win and believe that with a little miracle. We can still qualify.”
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In Group F, pacesetters Cote d’Ivoire entertain Kenya at the Alassane Outtara Stadium in Embimpé and need to match the result of second-placed Gabon’s game against Burundi to qualify for the first time since 2014.
Gabon will be without star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after he was sent off at the end of the tie against Gambia on 10 October.
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Chance to progress
Ivorian boss Emerse Faé, who guided his squad to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations title, admitted he wanted his players to be aware of the stakes.
“It will be a decisive game,” said the 41-year-old. “I’m not making a big deal out of the record but for the country it’s important to qualify for a World Cup. We haven’t been there since 2014.
“We respect Kenya,” added the former Ivorian international midfielder. “But we’re going into the game in a positive frame of mind.”
Group B pacesetters Senegal enter their final game with a two-point lead over Democratic Republic of Congo who welcome Sudan to the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa.
Senegal entertain Mauritania at the Stade Abdoulaye Wade in Dakar and need to match the result of the DRC to stride into a second successive tournament.
However, if second-from-bottom Mauritania were to pull off a shock win, a DRC victory would enable them to progress to the World Cup for the first time since 1974 when the country was known as Zaire.
