Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has assured Nigerian fans that his team will step onto the pitch with confidence but without arrogance as they prepare to face South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in a crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday night.

The highly anticipated encounter, set for the Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein, carries extra emotional weight following Nigeria’s dramatic penalty shootout victory over the same opponents in the semi-finals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.

But Ekong insists that past glories will count for little when the whistle blows at 6 p.m. local time (5 p.m. Nigerian time).

“We defeated them at the Africa Cup, but that is in the past, and some changes have been made to both teams since then,” said Ekong, who was named Man of the Competition at the last AFCON.

“Our approach will be devoid of arrogance; we will play with level heads and go all out for victory. There will be no arrogance, but we will not be diffident either.”

The experienced defender emphasized that the Super Eagles respect their South African counterparts but remain firmly focused on their ultimate goal—securing a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“South Africa is a good team that we respect, but we just have to go on the pitch and play our game. Our objective has not changed; we want to go to the FIFA World Cup finals next year,” he said.

Meanwhile, head coach Eric Chelle, who took over Nigeria’s qualifying campaign midstream, is confident in his reshaped squad’s ability to claim maximum points.

“We have come here to play for the three points, so we will be sending out the team that will get the job done,” Chelle said. “We are happy to have overcome Rwanda, but we have to conquer here tomorrow in order to be in a good position for the qualification.”

Under Chelle, the Super Eagles have taken seven points from a possible nine, showing a marked improvement after a sluggish start to the qualifiers.

The coach believes his team now has the momentum—and the belief—to change the narrative.

Ahead of the match, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Tope Ajayi, visited the team after their final training session on Monday and delivered a rousing message of support.

“I have the confidence that we will win, and many South Africans also believe that Nigeria will win,” Ajayi told the players. “We should go out there and play with gusto, confidence, and courage, and refuse to be intimidated by anything.”

Ajayi invoked the recent success of the Super Falcons in Johannesburg as inspiration, noting his earlier prediction that the women’s team would qualify for the Olympics—and did.

 “Now, I am telling you that I am seeing you at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and it will be so,” he added.

With high stakes and national pride on the line, Tuesday’s clash promises fireworks in Bloemfontein as Nigeria looks to leapfrog their group rivals and move closer to another World Cup appearance.

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Tunisia became Africa’s second team to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a late 1-0 victory away to Equatorial Guinea on Monday.

Mohamed Ben Romdhane scored a 94th minute winner as Tunisia booked their place at the 2026 World Cup with a 1-0 victory over hosts Equatorial Guinea in Malabo on Monday, taking an unassailable lead in their qualifying Group H.

The victory moves Tunisia to 22 points from their eight qualifiers, 10 points ahead of second-placed Namibia, who have three games left to play.

Tunisia, who are coached by Sami Trabelsi, will make their seventh appearance at the World Cup, which is to be staged in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11-July 19, and their third in a row.

It looked as though they would have to wait to seal their spot, but Ben Romdhane was presented with a simple tap-in deep into injury-time after a defensive error from the home side allowed Firas Chaouat to tee him up.

Tunisia are the second African side to seal their place at the global finals after Morocco booked their spot on Saturday.

The Moroccans were 2-0 winners in Zambia on Monday as Youssef En Nesyri and Hamza Igamane scored the goals that keeps up their momentum.

Mozambique kept their qualification hopes alive with a 2-0 win over Botswana in Group G. They are three points behind leaders Algeria, but have played a game more.

Witi and Faisal Banga scored in either half to give them the victory in Maputo.

Nine teams from Africa will qualify automatically for the World Cup, with a 10th place available through an inter-continental play-off.

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The Atlas Lions of Morocco in the Group E of the African qualifying series for the 2026 World Cup may have made winning a habit.

Even with the qualification for the World Cup already secured, they won’t lower their guards. On Monday, they made it seven wins in seven matches following their 2-0 away win over Zambia.

It appeared they picked up from where they ended on Friday with a late goal over Niger in Rabat by also scoring early in their away duel in Zambia.

After just seven minutes, the Moroccans were already a goal up through Youssef En-Nesyri.

Again, early in the second half, Hamza Igamane doubled the lead in the 47^th minute. With the win, the Moroccans take their point haul to 21 and their goal tally also goes to 21, They only conceded two goals – indicating a potent attack and solid defense line.

Tanzania (10 pts, 6 GP) are next and hold a game in hand on the chasing pair Zambia and Niger (both 6 pts; Niger 5 GP), while Congo sit on one point.

With Eritrea withdrawn, the group features uneven game counts, but Morocco’s dominance has removed any jeopardy at the top.

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