2026 World Cup Qualifier: Benin Republic to Face Nigeria in Ivory Coast

• Nigeria’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Benin Republic have a new venue
• Benin will host the Super Eagles in Ivory Coast following a recent CAF verdict
• The crucial FIFA World Cup qualifiers will be played between June 3 and 11

Benin Republic will host the Super Eagles in a neutral venue when both teams meet in the next round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June.

Officials of the Benin Football Association have already kicked off negotiations with their Ivorian counterparts to use one of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations venues for the crunch game.

According to the Daily Post, the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) has ruled that stadiums in THE Francophone country are sub-standard and cannot host international matches.

The Cheetahs, who are coached by former Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, and are bottom of Group C with zero points, will look to bounce back after suffering two losses in their first two games in the World Cup qualifiers.

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Nigeria will host Bafana Bafana of South Africa on June 3 before travelling to Ivory Coast for the crucial game against Benin Republic on June 11.

Nigeria drops in latest rankings

Meanwhile, the Super Eagles have dropped two places in the latest FIFA ranking for the month of April after suffering one defeat in two games in the period under review, The Nation reports.

Despite defeating Ghana 2-0 in their first game, Nigeria dropped to the 30th spot in the world after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Mali in an international friendly game played in Morocco during the March international window.

The Super Eagles still however maintained their third spot in Africa behind Morocco and Senegal who are both in the World’s top 20 teams.

Finidi unveils plans for Super Eagles

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Nigeria's interim coach Finidi George has stated that he will try to win the AFCON with the Super Eagles if he gets the job permanently.

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The former Real Betis icon, who recently led Nigeria's international friendlies against Ghana and Mali, has continued to enjoy the occasion after being elected interim manager of the national team.

The year 2025 presents Nigeria, and potentially coach Finidi, with another opportunity to go one step further to achieve this AFCON goal after losing the 2023 final to Ivory Coast.