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Nigeria could be in a good position to qualify for next year’s World Cup if South Africa are found guilty.
The Super Eagles’ hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup could receive a significant boost if FIFA decides to hammer the Bafana Bafana of South Africa with a sanction.
Boost for Nigeria as South Africa face points deduction
Nigeria currently face an uphill task of qualifying for the biggest showpiece on earth as they are four points behind leaders, South Africa, in their group with just five games left to play as of the time of writing this report.
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11:02 - 22.03.2025
South Africa 2-0 Lesotho: Watch Bafana Bafana send warning to Super Eagles
Watch the Bafana Bafana of South Africa beat Lesotho 2-0 to send a warning to World Cup Group C rivals, the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
However, while the Super Eagles are currently in a difficult position, their fortunes could turn around if the world football governing body, FIFA, finds South Africa guilty of fielding an ineligible player.
The Bafana Bafana have been accused of allegedly fielding an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena in their 2-0 win over Lesotho last Friday.
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According to the FIFA rule book, Mokoena should have been suspended against the Crocodiles after picking up two yellow cards in two previous games in the same qualifying campaign.
The Mamelodi Sundowns star picked up a yellow card in the 45th minute of South Africa’s 2-1 win over Benin on matchday 1 before picking up another yellow card in the 52nd minute of the 3-1 win over Zimbabwe on matchday 4.
As a result, Mokoena should have sat out the 2-0 win over Lesotho on matchday 5, having accumulated two yellow cards in four games.
According to FIFA rules, if a player receives two cautions in two different matches of the same competition, they will be automatically suspended from the team’s subsequent match.
However, Mokoena played South Africa’s subsequent game against Lesotho despite picking up two yellow cards in two different matches in this qualifying campaign.
What does this mean for the Super Eagles?
Right now, FIFA has not released a statement on the situation as both South Africa and Nigeria are currently preparing for their matchday 6 games against Benin and Zimbabwe, respectively.
However, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) can raise the issue with FIFA, which would likely lead to a sanction for South Africa.
The normal punishment for fielding an ineligible player in a game is a three-point deduction but FIFA will still need to rule on the situation.
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Ironically, the Super Eagles have also been on the receiving end of this rule after they were deducted three points for fielding an ineligible player (Abdullahi Shehu) in their World Cup qualifier against Algeria in the 2018 World Cup qualifying game.
Although the match ended 1-1 on the pitch, the Desert Warriors were handed 3-0 technical win as Shehu had picked up two yellow cards in previous games and should have been suspended for the match.
Thankfully, the administrative error was not costly as Nigeria had already secured qualification before the match.
However, in South Africa’s case, a three-point deduct will be a blow to their qualifying hopes. The 1996 African champions currently lead the group with ten points, two ahead of Benin, three ahead of Rwanda and four ahead of Nigeria.
Should they get a three-point deduction, they are most likely going to lose their grip on the top spot, while Nigeria could reduce the gap to one point.
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