African Football Discussion Thread Current Topic: 👉 AFCON 2025/2026

[Stepstowealth]

looking at the teams that Nigeria will be facing in the group stages of the Afcon on paper they look easy for the super eagles, but one thing with Nigeria is their inconsistent nature it's really difficult to predict Nigerian games because today they may be up and the next day they are down.but i expect Nigeria to top this group group after the three matches in the group stage.

The super eagles may not loose any game, but they will likely have a draw. They will start the first game with confidence and maybe relax in the second game because of overconfidence and that may be where the draw game will come in.  I would have had more confidence in our if Nwabali who is a proven Goalkeeper in the AFCON was in the team, but injuries has kept him out and it is  Francis Uzoho  who will be our first choice, maybe our defense will do a good job of helping him. I look forward to the competition, I hope there are improvements.

[Tonimez]

Egypt will be hosting Super eagles in a friendly game today in their final preparatory process for the 2025 AFCON tournament. For me this game has a big role to play especially when it comes to ball patterns and getting used to the coach's strategy too. For the records, the last time Egypt met with super eagles, it ended 1-0 in favour of super eagles. All things being equal, Nigeria should beat them again but the players should also remember not to sustain any injuries too. The super eagles first game in the AFCON 2025 is against Tanzania which I also expect them to win.

After the game, the players will be returning to Morocco for their AFCON clash that will start on 23/12/2025. For the 3 group games, I'm going for a double chance, a win or draw. A draw is likely to happen against Tunisia but the hope is still high that they will finish first on the table.

The squad list for the Tournament is here...



Good luck Eric Chelle.

[Kelward]

Egypt will be hosting Super eagles in a friendly game today in their final preparatory process for the 2025 AFCON tournament. For me this game has a big role to play especially when it comes to ball patterns and getting used to the coach's strategy too. For the records, the last time Egypt met with super eagles, it ended 1-0 in favour of super eagles. All things being equal, Nigeria should beat them again but the players should also remember not to sustain any injuries too. The super eagles first game in the AFCON 2025 is against Tanzania which I also expect them to win.

After the game, the players will be returning to Morocco for their AFCON clash that will start on 23/12/2025. For the 3 group games, I'm going for a double chance, a win or draw. A draw is likely to happen against Tunisia but the hope is still high that they will finish first on the table.

The squad list for the Tournament is here...



Good luck Eric Chelle.

Thanks for the update, I'm wishing the super eagles success in their friendly against Egypt, I hope that a win in the friendly will boost their morale in the AFCON tournament which is almost here. I hope that in AFCON they will play with zeal and have an easy ride in the group stages, I wouldn't want a situation where they will turn us to mathematicians as usual to be calculating their chances of progressing to the next stage. This AFCON should be a second chance to our coach to prove himself that he is worthy of leading the super eagles in the future. I wish our team the best, hopefully if they lift gold in AFCON will will overlook their flaws of not making it to the world cup.

[Different patterns]

Egypt will be hosting Super eagles in a friendly game today in their final preparatory process for the 2025 AFCON tournament. For me this game has a big role to play especially when it comes to ball patterns and getting used to the coach's strategy too. For the records, the last time Egypt met with super eagles, it ended 1-0 in favour of super eagles. All things being equal, Nigeria should beat them again but the players should also remember not to sustain any injuries too. The super eagles first game in the AFCON 2025 is against Tanzania which I also expect them to win.

After the game, the players will be returning to Morocco for their AFCON clash that will start on 23/12/2025. For the 3 group games, I'm going for a double chance, a win or draw. A draw is likely to happen against Tunisia but the hope is still high that they will finish first on the table.

The squad list for the Tournament is here...



Good luck Eric Chelle.

I believe the Super Eagles of Nigeria can win this game, they've beaten Egypt before, they can do it again, but this is a friendly game,my major concern is the AFCON tournament which is starting in few days time. Nigeria need to win this, at least to compensate the fans for losing the last AFCON game to ivory Coast in the AFCON final and also for losing to Congo in the playoffs qualifications for World Cup. We need consistent performance this time around. They have been putting in there best but this is the time where we need to be more tactical and have a winning mentality to each game. I see the Super Eagles lifting this trophy but they need to work hard. I commend previous efforts, we just need more this time around

[SatoPrincess]

Egypt will be hosting Super eagles in a friendly game today in their final preparatory process for the 2025 AFCON tournament. For me this game has a big role to play especially when it comes to ball patterns and getting used to the coach's strategy too. For the records, the last time Egypt met with super eagles, it ended 1-0 in favour of super eagles. All things being equal, Nigeria should beat them again but the players should also remember not to sustain any injuries too. The super eagles first game in the AFCON 2025 is against Tanzania which I also expect them to win.

After the game, the players will be returning to Morocco for their AFCON clash that will start on 23/12/2025. For the 3 group games, I'm going for a double chance, a win or draw. A draw is likely to happen against Tunisia but the hope is still high that they will finish first on the table.

The squad list for the Tournament is here...



Good luck Eric Chelle.

I don’t see anyone on that list I can trust to defend against Mo Salah. He may not be in form at Liverpool but he’s always been very consistent in his national team. However it’s a friendly match, there isn’t much at stake here. We might as well rest our players and give the reserves a try out.

[Princess Leah]

 Someone should confirm this please, I don't know if it's one of those rumours to give Nigerians hope, saw a news from my browser saying that Nigeria's hope for the world cup have been revived due to DR Congo featuring ineligible players that didn't complete the process of switching their nationality before being picked to participate in the play-off finals against Nigeria. https://businessday.ng/sports/article/2026-world-cup-nigerias-hopes-revived-by-dr-congo-players-ineligibility-claims/

 According to the news, Fifa could sanction DR Congo for such act. However I don't really believe the source of that news since I've not seen something like that from other legit sources which is my I brought it here, to know if anyone can confirm the authenticity of that news, well if it's true then there's really hope for the Nigerian team.

[SatoPrincess]

Someone should confirm this please, I don't know if it's one of those rumours to give Nigerians hope, saw a news from my browser saying that Nigeria's hope for the world cup have been revived due to DR Congo featuring ineligible players that didn't complete the process of switching their nationality before being picked to participate in the play-off finals against Nigeria. https://businessday.ng/sports/article/2026-world-cup-nigerias-hopes-revived-by-dr-congo-players-ineligibility-claims/

 According to the news, Fifa could sanction DR Congo for such act. However I don't really believe the source of that news since I've not seen something like that from other legit sources which is my I brought it here, to know if anyone can confirm the authenticity of that news, well if it's true then there's really hope for the Nigerian team.

I saw the news this morning. As far as I know it’s only Nigeria media that’s pushing this news that FIFA is looking into DR Congo for fielding Aaron Wan Bissaka in the World Cup qualifiers. I don’t get why some people are happy about this. It’s disgraceful that every time we have to resort to using calculator or finding backdoor means to qualify for tournaments.

[Spaceman1000$]

Someone should confirm this please, I don't know if it's one of those rumours to give Nigerians hope, saw a news from my browser saying that Nigeria's hope for the world cup have been revived due to DR Congo featuring ineligible players that didn't complete the process of switching their nationality before being picked to participate in the play-off finals against Nigeria. https://businessday.ng/sports/article/2026-world-cup-nigerias-hopes-revived-by-dr-congo-players-ineligibility-claims/

 According to the news, Fifa could sanction DR Congo for such act. However I don't really believe the source of that news since I've not seen something like that from other legit sources which is my I brought it here, to know if anyone can confirm the authenticity of that news, well if it's true then there's really hope for the Nigerian team.

I saw the news this morning. As far as I know it’s only Nigeria media that’s pushing this news that FIFA is looking into DR Congo for fielding Aaron Wan Bissaka in the World Cup qualifiers. I don’t get why some people are happy about this. It’s disgraceful that every time we have to resort to using calculator or finding backdoor means to qualify for tournaments.

I just saw the news now on X and it was posted by Lere Olayinka, it wasn't just Wan Bissaka, they about six of them DRC Congo fielded, and if what NFF is pushing is true then FIFA does not have a choice than to allow Nigeria to go for the playoff. NFF is arguing that you don't need to have two nationalities, you have to denounce one so that one can be used as an eligibility for you to play for any of the nationality you are interested in as a player, so there are some players in the DRC Congo team that have both nationalities. Here is the link to properly digest the information. https://x.com/OlayinkaLere/status/2000936455988797799?t=ciLYobjYApFmdeedPuk09w&s=19

[SatoPrincess]

Someone should confirm this please, I don't know if it's one of those rumours to give Nigerians hope, saw a news from my browser saying that Nigeria's hope for the world cup have been revived due to DR Congo featuring ineligible players that didn't complete the process of switching their nationality before being picked to participate in the play-off finals against Nigeria. https://businessday.ng/sports/article/2026-world-cup-nigerias-hopes-revived-by-dr-congo-players-ineligibility-claims/

 According to the news, Fifa could sanction DR Congo for such act. However I don't really believe the source of that news since I've not seen something like that from other legit sources which is my I brought it here, to know if anyone can confirm the authenticity of that news, well if it's true then there's really hope for the Nigerian team.

I saw the news this morning. As far as I know it’s only Nigeria media that’s pushing this news that FIFA is looking into DR Congo for fielding Aaron Wan Bissaka in the World Cup qualifiers. I don’t get why some people are happy about this. It’s disgraceful that every time we have to resort to using calculator or finding backdoor means to qualify for tournaments.

I just saw the news now on X and it was posted by Lere Olayinka, it wasn't just Wan Bissaka, they about six of them DRC Congo fielded, and if what NFF is pushing is true then FIFA does not have a choice than to allow Nigeria to go for the playoff. NFF is arguing that you don't need to have two nationalities, you have to denounce one so that one can be used as an eligibility for you to play for any of the nationality you are interested in as a player, so there are some players in the DRC Congo team that have both nationalities. Here is the link to properly digest the information. https://x.com/OlayinkaLere/status/2000936455988797799?t=ciLYobjYApFmdeedPuk09w&s=19

That’s not my point. My point is why do we have to rely on a technicality to qualify for the World Cup? The Super Eagles were not not cheated out of the World Cup, we had a relatively easy path compared to other teams yet we couldn’t qualify. In my opinion the Super Eagles do not deserve to be in the World Cup, I think we all know why the NFF is pushing this.

[Fiatless]

I just saw the news now on X and it was posted by Lere Olayinka, it wasn't just Wan Bissaka, they about six of them DRC Congo fielded, and if what NFF is pushing is true then FIFA does not have a choice than to allow Nigeria to go for the playoff. NFF is arguing that you don't need to have two nationalities, you have to denounce one so that one can be used as an eligibility for you to play for any of the nationality you are interested in as a player, so there are some players in the DRC Congo team that have both nationalities. Here is the link to properly digest the information. https://x.com/OlayinkaLere/status/2000936455988797799?t=ciLYobjYApFmdeedPuk09w&s=19

Some major newspapers like the Vanguard have reported the same news.

FIFA duly cleared these players to play for the Congo DR. The Nigerian protest is that the players violated the Congolese process of becoming citizens. To become a full citizen of the country, the law requires that you renounce your previous citizenship. Nigeria is claiming that several players still have dual citizenship since they still hold the passports of their former countries. The NFF is claiming that the Congo football body deceived FIFA in granting these players the needed clearance.

Nigeria has a good case. Maybe we might end up going to the World Cup through he back door.

[Spaceman1000$]

Someone should confirm this please, I don't know if it's one of those rumours to give Nigerians hope, saw a news from my browser saying that Nigeria's hope for the world cup have been revived due to DR Congo featuring ineligible players that didn't complete the process of switching their nationality before being picked to participate in the play-off finals against Nigeria. https://businessday.ng/sports/article/2026-world-cup-nigerias-hopes-revived-by-dr-congo-players-ineligibility-claims/

 According to the news, Fifa could sanction DR Congo for such act. However I don't really believe the source of that news since I've not seen something like that from other legit sources which is my I brought it here, to know if anyone can confirm the authenticity of that news, well if it's true then there's really hope for the Nigerian team.

I saw the news this morning. As far as I know it’s only Nigeria media that’s pushing this news that FIFA is looking into DR Congo for fielding Aaron Wan Bissaka in the World Cup qualifiers. I don’t get why some people are happy about this. It’s disgraceful that every time we have to resort to using calculator or finding backdoor means to qualify for tournaments.

I just saw the news now on X and it was posted by Lere Olayinka, it wasn't just Wan Bissaka, they about six of them DRC Congo fielded, and if what NFF is pushing is true then FIFA does not have a choice than to allow Nigeria to go for the playoff. NFF is arguing that you don't need to have two nationalities, you have to denounce one so that one can be used as an eligibility for you to play for any of the nationality you are interested in as a player, so there are some players in the DRC Congo team that have both nationalities. Here is the link to properly digest the information. https://x.com/OlayinkaLere/status/2000936455988797799?t=ciLYobjYApFmdeedPuk09w&s=19

That’s not my point. My point is why do we have to rely on a technicality to qualify for the World Cup? The Super Eagles were not not cheated out of the World Cup, we had a relatively easy path compared to other teams yet we couldn’t qualify. In my opinion the Super Eagles do not deserve to be in the World Cup, I think we all know why the NFF is pushing this.

Of course we know why the NFF is pushing this and we cannot ignore the fact that we weren't competent enough to qualify during the normal process of qualification, but here is an offense somebody has committed, so it is of good conscience if FIFA could at least look into this properly, if anybody is found wanting let's them face the sanction. Mind you this is not a direct qualification to the World cup, if for any reason FIFA finds DRC Congo of committing any of the offenses, we will still need to go for the playoff, which if we don't do well, we'll come back home again.

[Dunamisx]

The rules are there, they have been made, if any one found guilty of compliance, they they should take the appropriate decision over the player or his country, of course it is not possible for a player to claim two nationalities, he must announce one and denounce the other, but the whole thing about football made it even difficult and more complicated in knowing what to do all because of money and fame.

[Franctoshi]

I just saw the news now on X and it was posted by Lere Olayinka, it wasn't just Wan Bissaka, they about six of them DRC Congo fielded, and if what NFF is pushing is true then FIFA does not have a choice than to allow Nigeria to go for the playoff. NFF is arguing that you don't need to have two nationalities, you have to denounce one so that one can be used as an eligibility for you to play for any of the nationality you are interested in as a player, so there are some players in the DRC Congo team that have both nationalities. Here is the link to properly digest the information. https://x.com/OlayinkaLere/status/2000936455988797799?t=ciLYobjYApFmdeedPuk09w&s=19

Some major newspapers like the Vanguard have reported the same news.

FIFA duly cleared these players to play for the Congo DR. The Nigerian protest is that the players violated the Congolese process of becoming citizens. To become a full citizen of the country, the law requires that you renounce your previous citizenship. Nigeria is claiming that several players still have dual citizenship since they still hold the passports of their former countries. The NFF is claiming that the Congo football body deceived FIFA in granting these players the needed clearance.

Nigeria has a good case. Maybe we might end up going to the World Cup through he back door.

Actually this is a serious case for Nigeria  to potentially win, and if Nigeria has a very strong stand on this matter they will definitely disqualify DR. Congo, because when it comes to football, you either nationalise here to play here, or they denounce there, you can't possess dual citizenship at same time to play football, you choose to play for only one country of your choice.

[Fiatless]

Of course we know why the NFF is pushing this and we cannot ignore the fact that we weren't competent enough to qualify during the normal process of qualification, but here is an offense somebody has committed, so it is of good conscience if FIFA could at least look into this properly, if anybody is found wanting let's them face the sanction. Mind you this is not a direct qualification to the World cup, if for any reason FIFA finds DRC Congo of committing any of the offenses, we will still need to go for the playoff, which if we don't do well, we'll come back home again.

Whether we were competent or not, this is a golden opportunity, and NFF needs to maximize it. The issue is that FIFA has cleared these players based on its rules that state that "once you have a passport of your country, you’re eligible." Nigeria can argue the case that these players are not yet citizens of Congo since they still possess dual citizenship, which is not recognised by the constitution of Congo DR.

The intercontinental playoff will not be a big problem since Nigeria will play just one game against the winner between New Caledonia and Jamaica.
https://punchng.com/breaking-nigerias-world-cup-dream-alive-as-dr-congo-face-player-eligibility-probe/

Actually this is a serious case for Nigeria  to potentially win, and if Nigeria has a very strong stand on this matter they will definitely disqualify DR. Congo, because when it comes to football, you either nationalise here to play here, or they denounce there, you can't possess dual citizenship at same time to play football, you choose to play for only one country of your choice.

In some countries, dual citizenship is legal. But it is illegal in DR Congo.

[SatoPrincess]

The rules are there, they have been made, if any one found guilty of compliance, they they should take the appropriate decision over the player or his country, of course it is not possible for a player to claim two nationalities, he must announce one and denounce the other, but the whole thing about football made it even difficult and more complicated in knowing what to do all because of money and fame.

You know writing like this doesn’t help the neutral tag you have neither does it help the sig campaign.
To everyone who’s excited about this news, congratulations. Nigeria has got your hopes up again, I hope you don’t get high blood pressure because of the Super Eagles.

[Slow death]

The rules are there, they have been made, if any one found guilty of compliance, they they should take the appropriate decision over the player or his country, of course it is not possible for a player to claim two nationalities, he must announce one and denounce the other, but the whole thing about football made it even difficult and more complicated in knowing what to do all because of money and fame.

I'm sorry, I really like the Nigerian national team and I even bet that they would win their last game against Congo, but I lost my bet and accepted the defeat. The Nigerian federation should accept defeat on the field; it seems to me that they are sore losers who don't want to accept that Congo was better. The game is over, accepting defeat and moving on is the best thing to do.

See this article:

Wan-Bissaka was born in England to Congolese parents and first represented DR Congo at U20 level in 2015. He went on to play for England’s youth teams but never made a senior appearance for the Three Lions, leaving the door open for a switch.

In June 2025, he accepted a call-up for DR Congo friendlies, and on 22 August 2025 FIFA approved his request for a one-time nationality switch. He made his senior debut for the Leopards in a World Cup qualifier against South Sudan on 5 September 2025.

With FIFA’s approval issued months before the playoff, officials say there is no basis for any challenge to his involvement.

When asked whether Nigeria had filed or planned to file a protest, NFF Secretary General Sanusi Mohammed declined to comment.

source: https://sportsration.com/fifa-official-confirms-wan-bissaka-was-eligible-to-play-for-dr-congo-in-playoff-win-over-nigeria/

It seems to me that some people in the Nigerian media are trying to pressure FIFA because they don't want to accept the obvious fact: Nigeria lost to Congo.

[Stepstowealth]

Someone should confirm this please, I don't know if it's one of those rumours to give Nigerians hope, saw a news from my browser saying that Nigeria's hope for the world cup have been revived due to DR Congo featuring ineligible players that didn't complete the process of switching their nationality before being picked to participate in the play-off finals against Nigeria. https://businessday.ng/sports/article/2026-world-cup-nigerias-hopes-revived-by-dr-congo-players-ineligibility-claims/

 According to the news, Fifa could sanction DR Congo for such act. However I don't really believe the source of that news since I've not seen something like that from other legit sources which is my I brought it here, to know if anyone can confirm the authenticity of that news, well if it's true then there's really hope for the Nigerian team.

It may not be a popular news yet, but at the same time has a possibility of being true. The report is concrete from the read. If DR Congo have some points deducted, things could go in favor of the Super Eagles as the Intercontinental Playoffs has not yet been played. I will not want to get my hopes too high on that, I just like to think that we are out of the World Cup and should be focusing on winning the African Cup Of Nations as a way to get back to our football glory days. We need to make sure we win the African Cup so we have something to celebrate. 

[Rockstarguy]

Me looking at the teams that Nigeria will be facing in the group stages of the Afcon on paper they look easy for the super eagles, but one thing with Nigeria is their inconsistent nature it's really difficult to predict Nigerian games because today they may be up and the next day they are down.but i expect Nigeria to top this group group after the three matches in the group stage.

The super eagles should compensate Nigerians by winning the African cup of Nations for failing to qualify for the world cup next year.the super eagles has been really poor in recent matches which has contributed to their poor run of form.

These are games that the Super Eagles have better chances of winning, but the problem with the team is too much confidence, and sometimes the Super Eagles players don't put in enough effort in their games despite the quality they have in their respective clubs.

I see the Super Eagles goalkeeper as one of the problems the team is also facing; the confidence he has is really causing him to make more mistakes. If the Super Eagles really want to win these games and take them seriously, they have better chances of winning.

[Adbitco]

Egypt will be hosting Super eagles in a friendly game today in their final preparatory process for the 2025 AFCON tournament. For me this game has a big role to play especially when it comes to ball patterns and getting used to the coach's strategy too. For the records, the last time Egypt met with super eagles, it ended 1-0 in favour of super eagles. All things being equal, Nigeria should beat them again but the players should also remember not to sustain any injuries too. The super eagles first game in the AFCON 2025 is against Tanzania which I also expect them to win.

Well since it's just a friendly game, both teams won't be with their main players so I'm just wondering if this is in preparation for the AFCON why are the players that are supposed to play in it are not around. Personally, I don't see any need for this very match, some of the big names are still with their clubs and will be joining their country side soon. The result of this match will be very insignificant moving into the competition proper.

[Callido]

Well since it's just a friendly game, both teams won't be with their main players so I'm just wondering if this is in preparation for the AFCON why are the players that are supposed to play in it are not around. Personally, I don't see any need for this very match, some of the big names are still with their clubs and will be joining their country side soon. The result of this match will be very insignificant moving into the competition proper.

The match is just for managers to try and see how the tactics works and amendments, players are supposed to be available by this time, how long will players use to get acquainted with the managers tactics if there is any changes from the previous ones used at the World Cup qualification.

I'm unbothered about the result of the friendly game today, even if we lose let there be some improvement tactically, and most importantly our players to avoid any form of injury, less than an hour before the match begins, still unable to access our starting lineup.