The Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein will take centre stage on Tuesday as South Africa’s Bafana Bafana host the Super Eagles of Nigeria in a crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

With Group C reaching its climax, both teams are under pressure to get a result. South Africa aims to solidify its position at the top of the group, while Nigeria is desperate for a win to keep its World Cup hopes alive.

Current standings

Bafana Bafana lead the group on 16 points after sweeping aside Lesotho 3-0 in their last outing. Nigeria trails in third with 10 points, just one shy of Benin Republic, who sit second. On Sunday, the Eagles narrowly edged Rwanda 1-0 to stay in the race.

Eagles under pressure

Nigeria’s inconsistent form—only two wins in five matches—means this tie could prove pivotal. Adding to the challenge, Hugo Broos’ South Africa are on a three-match unbeaten run at home and have won three qualifiers in a row.

Injury watch and key battles

The availability of Victor Osimhen remains uncertain after the striker suffered a knock against Rwanda.

Mohamed Ben Romdhane scored in added time to give Tunisia a 1-0 win in Equatorial Guinea on Monday and qualification for the 2026 World Cup in North America.

Victory for Tunisia gave them an unassailable lead in Group H and they became the second African nation to secure a place at the tournament after Morocco.

Tunisia have 22 points from eight matches, 10 more than second-placed Namibia, who have one match in hand but cannot match the total of the Carthage Eagles.

Ben Romdhane, a midfielder with Egyptian and African club giants Al Ahly, struck in the 94th minute after being set up by Firas Chaouat.

Former coach of the Super Eagles, Samson Siasia, has revealed why Rwandan players injured Victor Osimhen in Nigeria’s 1-0 win over the Amamubi on Saturday.

Osimhen was injured in the first half of Nigeria’s hard-fought 1-0 win over Rwanda in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Nigerian coach Eric Chelle earlier expressed uncertainty over the striker’s availability for the next game against South Africa coming up on Tuesday.

However, it was  reports that the Galatasaray frontman has been ruled out of the very important game.

Osimhen was replaced with Cyriel Dessers in the encounter.

Many Nigerian fans were praying and hoping that the striker could make the trip to South Africa for the crucial encounter at the Free State Stadium.

Siasia, while analysing the game on Super Sports, noted that the Amavubi stars knew what they were doing, adding it was a clear game plan.

According to him, Osimhen was causing the visitors so much problem and they had to find a way to take him out.

“Of course, they knew exactly what they were doing. He was causing them a lot of problems so they had to take him out.

“It was how the Rwandans wanted to play. So that was a very good game plan for them,” Siasia said.

The Nigerian team are on their way to South Africa without their main striker. They will play Bafana Bafana on Tuesday.

Osimhen’s injury remains a big blow for Nigeria as everybody is looking up to him as the impact player for the three-time African champions to deliver the goods.

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