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On Friday, the spotlight will be on the New Peter Mokaba Stadium in South Africa, where the Super Eagles will face off against Lesotho’s Crocodiles.

This crucial encounter represents Nigeria’s final opportunity to keep their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification hopes alive.

After a 1-1 draw with South Africa’s Bafana Bafana on September 1, the Super Eagles seemed destined to miss back-to-back World Cup tournaments.

But their fortunes took a turn when South Africa lost points for using an ineligible player, tightening the competition at the top of Group C.

This decision put Nigeria just three points behind both Benin and South Africa with two matches left, reigniting their chances of qualifying.

READ ALSO: FIFA Sanction South Africa For Fielding Ineligible Player In World Cup Qualifier

Crucial game

Nigeria must avoid defeat in both of their remaining matches, beginning with Friday’s clash against Lesotho.

Additionally, they will be relying on South Africa to falter in their upcoming games against Zimbabwe and Rwanda.

With multiple teams still in contention to lead the group, securing a victory in Polokwane is crucial for the Super Eagles to stay in the hunt.

Lesotho managed a 1-1 draw against Nigeria in their earlier meeting at Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on November 16, 2023, and will aim to pull off another surprise in Polokwane.

Since 2019, the two teams have faced each other three times, with Nigeria winning twice and one match ending in a draw.

At the moment, Benin lead Group C with 14 points and a goal difference of +4, closely followed by South Africa, who also have 14 points but a +2 goal difference.

Nigeria occupy third place with 11 points and a +2 goal difference, while Rwanda trail just behind with 11 points and a goal difference of zero.

The Super Eagles’ journey in the World Cup qualifiers has been inconsistent so far, with two victories, five draws, and one loss. In comparison, Lesotho have secured two wins, three draws, and suffered three defeats.

Matchday nine kicks off on Friday, October 10, at the New Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, with the game starting at 6:00 p.m. local time (5:00 p.m. in Nigeria).

UEFA on Thursday denied ongoing talks with Super League promoter A22 Sports Management, but it admitted it had met the body after the promoter told AFP it was “negotiating” with UEFA to create a new Champions League format.

“What A22 and the Super League clubs have done is to propose an agreement to UEFA that essentially consists of providing a free broadcasting platform and making very slight changes to the current competition format,” said an A22 spokesperson.

In this version, a far cry from the initial semi-closed competition project that nearly tore apart European football in 2021, the 36 teams currently qualified for the Champions League would be divided into two groups of 18 clubs, with the highest-ranked teams then competing in the round of 32.

READ ALSO: UEFA Champions League Results — Collated

UEFA acknowledged several “public meetings” between its general secretary, Theodore Theodoridis, and A22 co-founder Anas Laghrari but said they “produced no official results.”

“There are no plans to change the UEFA Champions League format,” UEFA said, having introduced a new format which came into effect from the 2024-25 season.

The developments come after Barcelona president Joan Laporta, who has long been at the forefront of the Super League project, expressed his desire for “an agreement with UEFA” to “pacify” European football.

Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaifi, the chair of the rebranded European Football Clubs (EFC, formerly European Club Association), welcomed Laporta’s shift at the EFC meeting in Rome.

For Al-Khelaifi, Barca’s rapprochement with the EFC and UEFA does not mean the end of the Super League project, because “it was already dead before”.

“We don’t need other competitions; we already have the best competitions,” the Qatari added.

Monaco sacked their Austrian coach Adi Hutter on Thursday and are set to replace him with Belgian Sebastien Pocognoli, sources told AFP.

The 55-year-old Hutter’s assistants, Christian Peintinger and Klaus Schmidt, will also leave the club.

The trio, who were hired just over two years ago, told players about their departure after training on Thursday.

Monaco are fifth in Ligue 1 after winning four and drawing one of their first seven matches, sitting just three points off leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

They lost their opening Champions League match against Club Brugge but then held Manchester City to a 2-2 draw last week.

READ ALSO: Venezuela Sack Coach After World Cup Qualification Failure

Sources claim that Monaco tried unsuccessfully to reach an agreement with German coach Edin Terzic, 42, who was previously in charge of Borussia Dortmund.

Instead, they are said to be turning to Union Saint-Gilloise’s Pocognoli, 38, a former Belgian international who last season—his only one as a first-team head coach—led his club to a first league title in 90 years.

Barcelona will face Villarreal in Miami in a La Liga match on December 20, the Spanish top flight said Wednesday, making it the first European league fixture to be played abroad.

Earlier this week, European football governing body UEFA said it opposed the idea of games being played overseas but would permit it on an exceptional basis, along with a Serie A match in Australia in February between AC Milan and Como.

“With this match, we take a historic step that projects La Liga and Spanish football into a new dimension,” said La Liga president Javier Tebas in a statement.

“We understand and respect the concerns that this decision may generate, but it is important to put it into context — it is a single match out of the 380 that make up the season,” Tebas added.

The game was due to be played at Villarreal’s home stadium, but will now take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in the United States, in Florida.
Villarreal will take measures to compensate season ticket holders after the game was moved.

“Villarreal season ticket holders will be able to travel for free to the match, and those who choose not to travel to Miami will enjoy a 30 per cent discount on their season ticket price as part of the measures designed to reward their support and loyalty,” said La Liga.

‘Complete Opposition’

In September, a total of 18 fan groups from both teams involved expressed their “complete opposition” to the match taking place abroad.

La Liga has attempted to play matches overseas dating back to 2017, but the

Spanish football federation (RFEF) frequently resisted, despite hosting the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia itself.

Barcelona’s rivals, Real Madrid, have also expressed their disapproval at the decision to take a La Liga game abroad.

They said in August that hosting the game in Miami would “alter the competitive balance” of the league and set an “unacceptable precedent”.