Lesotho vs Nigeria dwell: Super Eagles determined to maintain their World Cup 2026 qualifying hopes alive

Nigeria’s crucial World Cup qualifying clash against Lesotho kicks off at 5pm BST on Friday 10 October at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, South Africa.

Scotland were outplayed before Kostas Tsimikas fired the visitors into a 62nd-minute lead at Hampden. But Ryan Christie levelled within two minutes following his own corner and Ferguson marked his 19th cap with a goal 10 minutes from time as Scotland capitalised on another set-piece.

Luca Zidane, son of France great Zinedine Zidane, has been called up to Algeria’s squad for this month’s World Cup qualifiers against Somalia and Uganda after switching allegiance to the country where his grandparents hailed from.

The goalkeeper, who played for France at junior level, made the switch after the move was approved by football’s world governing body FIFA last month.

The Cape Verde Islands stand on the brink of a historic World Cup qualification, requiring just one victory from their next two matches to secure a place in next year’s tournament.

This achievement would underscore the remarkable progress of a nation that, two decades ago, had barely registered on the international football stage.

South Africa have been stripped of three points in their World Cup qualifying campaign for fielding an ineligible player, denting their hopes of reaching next year’s finals.

Fifa said on Monday that its disciplinary committee had found South Africa guilty of playing midfielder Teboho Mokoena in a 2-0 home win over Lesotho in March when he should have sat out the qualifier after two cautions in previous Group C games.

Nigeria’s pursuit of 2026 World Cup qualification is entering crunch time as they take on Lesotho in a crucial clash.

The Super Eagles currently sit third in Group C, with only top spot guaranteeing participation in the United States, Canada and Mexico next year. The four best second-place teams will then enter the play-offs vying to qualify.

Placed three points behind Benin and South Africa in the two spots above them, Eric Chelle’s side are now desperate to secure six points in their next pair of outings to give them any hope of either outcome, but their chances were recently boosted when Bafana Bafana were docked three points for fielding an ineligible player earlier in the qualifying campaign.

Lesotho will meanwhile look to cause an upset and effectively end Nigeria’s hopes of qualification by keeping their own World Cup dreams alive, with it still mathematically possible that the enclaved country can close the five-point gap between themselves and the top two.

Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the World Cup qualifiers.

We usually focus on the European side of things but today’s action comes from the African qualifiers were Nigeria are in a bit of trouble.

They sit third in Group C with two matches to play and only the top team in each group is guaranteed a place at the World Cup.

The Super Eagles need to win their last two matches and hope other results also go there way.

We’ll have the latest permutations, team news and updates throughout the day so stick with us as we build up to kick off at 5pm.