FIFA crushes Nigeria’s hope of making the World Cup

FIFA on Wednesday confirmed the final line-up for the inter-confederation play-off tournament, naming DR Congo as Africa’s representative

The development by the football governing body has dashed Nigeria’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In an accreditation notice circulated to journalists ahead of the competition, FIFA detailed the tournament format and listed the six participating nations.

DR Congo’s inclusion leaves no room for Nigeria, whose football federation had challenged the result of their defeat in the CAF play-offs in November 2025.

The Nigeria Football Federation lodged a formal protest, alleging that DR Congo fielded ineligible players during the decisive tie, which ended 1-1 and went to penalties, where Nigeria lost. The appeal sought to overturn the result and secure the Super Eagles’ place in the inter-continental play-offs.

Confirming the development in a statement, FIFA said, “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 gets underway on March 26.