With just days until the final whistle of the Africa Zone (CAF) qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the continent's football landscape is electric with anticipation.

Nine slots will be secured for the expanded 48-team tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, but one more African side could join via the inter-confederation play-offs.

Morocco and Tunisia have already punched their tickets, but for Nigeria's Super Eagles, the dream of a return to the global stage after missing out in 2022 is teetering on the edge of despair.

The qualifiers kicked off on November 15, 2023, with 53 nations (Eritrea having withdrawn amid political concerns) battling through a gruelling home-and-away round-robin format across nine groups of six teams each.

Group winners earn automatic qualification, while the four best runners-up advance to the CAF play-offs for the final continental spot.

Morocco, fresh off their historic semi-final run at Qatar 2022 as the first African team to reach that stage, wasted no time asserting dominance. Their 5-0 thrashing of Niger in September sealed qualification, extending their unbeaten streak and cementing their status as a continental powerhouse.

Tunisia, meanwhile, clinched their berth with clinical efficiency, leveraging defensive solidity and counter-attacking flair honed under coach Jalel Kadri.

Yet, the race for the remaining seven direct spots is anything but settled. Teams like Egypt (20 points in Group A), Senegal (18 in Group B), Benin Republic (14 in Group C), Cape Verde (19 in Group D), Côte d'Ivoire (20 in Group F), Algeria (19 in Group G), and Ghana (19 in Group I) hold commanding leads with only two matches left.

For Nigeria, however, the script has been one of frustration and fleeting hope. Drawn into a notoriously tough Group C alongside South Africa, Benin, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Lesotho, the three-time African champions started sluggishly under former coach José Peseiro.

A winless opening quartet, three draws and a humiliating 2-1 home loss to Benin in June 2024 sparked outrage across the nation, with fans and pundits decrying tactical naivety and defensive lapses.

The Super Eagles, who last graced the World Cup in 2018, risked an embarrassing early exit.