Nigeria’s national football team have officially missed out on a place in the inter-confederation play-off tournament for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after FIFA confirmed the final line-up of participating teams on Wednesday.
In an official notice detailing the tournament format, FIFA named DR Congo national football team as Africa’s representative in the six-nation play-off competition.
The decision ends hopes of a late qualification for Nigeria despite the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) challenging the outcome of their CAF play-off defeat to DR Congo in November 2025.
Nigeria had lodged a formal protest, alleging that DR Congo fielded ineligible players during the decisive tie, which ended 1-1 before the Central Africans triumphed on penalties. The NFF sought to have the result overturned in a bid to secure the Super Eagles’ spot in the inter-continental play-offs.
Confirming the qualified teams, FIFA stated: “The FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament will see six teams fight it out for the final two places at the FIFA World Cup 2026™, to be staged in Canada, Mexico and the United States across 16 Host Cities.
All of the six teams have now been decided, with Bolivia, Congo DR, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname confirmed as qualifiers.”
The play-off tournament is scheduled to commence on March 26, with two final World Cup spots up for grabs.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
