Nigeria vs. Benin score: World Cup qualifying result, stats as Osimhen, Onyeka snatch playoff spot for Super Eagles

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Victor Osimhen scored a brilliant hat-trick before Nigeria sensationally stole a World Cup qualification playoff spot with a 4-0 win over Benin.

Eric Chelle's side produced their best display of a dispiriting CAF Group C campaign, with Osimhen darting through on goal to open the scoring in the third minute.

The Galatasaray striker produced a sumptuous header eight minutes before halftime, with Samuel Chukwueze again laying on a superb assist.

Fulham winger Chukwueze was forced off at halftime, but Moses Simon turned provider for Osimhen to claim the matchball.

But with South Africa beating Rwanda 3-0 to take top spot and automatic qualification, Nigeria still needed one more goal to guarantee a place in the playoffs to determine CAF's representative in the inter-confederation playoffs.

That arrived in sensational fashion in the 90th minute, as Simon dribbled his way to the byline and dispatched a chipped cross that substitute Frank Onyeka volleyed home emphatically.

Onyeka's goal sparked wild celebrations because it gave Nigeria a better goal difference than Group A runners-up Burkina Faso, putting them third in the overall second-place rankings. Even if DR Congo beat Sudan later on Tuesday, Nigeria will progress to the four-team playoff next month to determine CAF's entrant to the inter-confederation playoffs.

Benin started the day as Group C leaders, within touching distance of a maiden World Cup qualification. But they had the misfortune of running into a Nigeria side that turned up in the nick of time.

Nigeria vs. Benin score

Venue: Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo
Referee: Amin Mohamed Omar (Egypt)

Lineups:

Nigeria (4-2-2-2, right to left): 23. Stanley Nwabali (GK) — 2. Benjamin Fredrick, 6. Semi Ajayi, 21. Calvin Bassey, 3. Zaidu Sanusi (13. Bruno Onyemaechi)— 4. Wilfred Ndidi, 17. Alex Iwobi (19. Terem Moffi) —  11. Samuel Chukwueze (22. Olakunle Olusegun), 15. Moses Simon — 9. Victor Osimhen, 20. Akor Adams (8. Frank Onyeka)

Benin (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. Marcel Dandjinou (GK) — 3. Tamimou Ouorou, 4. Cedric Hountondji, 13. Mohamed Tijani, 12. David Kiki — 6. Olivier Verdon, 8. Hassane Imourane — 10. Tosin Aiyegun (20. Jodel Dossou), 19. Dodo Dokou (15. Romaric Amoussou) 17. Andreas Hountondji (18. Junior Olaitan)— 9. Steve Mounie

MORE: Can Nigeria still qualify for World Cup 2026? Super Eagles match schedule and what they need to reach FIFA finals

Nigeria vs. Benin live updates, highlights, and commentary

Fulltime

Nigeria have sealed their place in the playoffs. There are still hoops to jump through for Eric Chelle's men, who must emerge from a four-team knockout tournament to claim CAF's place in the inter-confederation playoffs next March. It's fair to ask where on earth this performance has been in the rest of the campaign. Benin came into this match top of the table but their dream was torn to pieces. South Africa have secured top spot and are going to the World Cup. Thanks for joining us!

90 mins: GOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!! Frank Onyeka!!!!!!!!

OH MY WORD, NIGERIA HAVE DONE IT IN THE FINAL MINUTE!!!!! It's a brilliant goal as Simon gets to the byline and chips back for Onyeka to gleefully volley home. Bedlam, people running on the athletics track. A 4-0 win would guarantee a playoff spot for the Super Eagles.

88 mins: Free-kick pumped into the Benin box. It won't drop for anyone to get a shot off before Olusegun clatters into the side-netting from a tight angle.

83 mins: Arokodare into the action and drags across the face of goal. Might have done better there.

81 mins: Osimhen is coming off. He's run himself into the ground and scored a phenomenal hat-trick. A gargantuan performance. Arokodare is coming on. Can he help Nigeria to a fourth goal that will guarantee that playoff spot.

79 mins: Ajayi has to score from the corner, but it looks like the referee has spotted a foul.

78 mins: Dandjinou gets across to make a fabulous save from Osimhen's header. The centre-forward really has been incredible tonight.

​​​​​​76 mins: Osimhen nods down for Iwobi, whose left-footed shot is blocked.

72 mins: South Africa now 3-0 up at home to Rwanda. Bafana Bafana are going to the World Cup. Meanwhile, it looks like Zaidu Sanusi's race is run. The Nigeria left-back and the stretcher is on.

70 mins: End-to-end stuff now and Dandjinou almost makes a mess of things under pressure from Osimhen after coming out to get to a long ball ahead of Moses.

69 mins: Osimhen turns provider now but Ndidi's touch is heavy and the midfielder is crowded out.

68 mins: Dossou straight into the action with a brilliant ball into the box but Mounie can't convert! Nwabali claims the resulting corner.

66 mins: Double switch for Benin, with Dossou and Amoussou into the fray.

57 mins: Olaitan comes on for Andreas Hountondji in Benin's first change.

55 mins: Almost 4-0. Benin are all at sea. Adams drills a cross into the box and Dandjinou makes a fine save to deny Simon. His defenders don't deal with the corner effectively but Ajayi lunges in to foul the goalkeeper and is booked for his troubles.

51 mins: GOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!! Victor Osimhen!!!!!!

A hat-trick for the star striker, with Simon the provider this time. Are Nigeria actually going to salvage their qualification campaign?!

48 mins: Chance for Benin but Bassey makes a vital clearance with Mounie poised to convert.

46 mins: Early chance in the second half for Nigeria but Dandjinou does well to charge down Adams' shot.

Kickoff: 2nd Half

We're back underway and there's a change for Nigeria. It must be an injury because Chukwueze is the man to make way after his two assists. Olakunle Olusegun on in place of the Fulham man.

Halftime

That's halftime and half a job done for Nigeria. It's been an uneven performance overall from the Super Eagles but Chukwueze and Osimhen have provided the cutting edge they have badly lacked in qualifying so far. South Africa's handy lead over Rwanda means the focus for Chelle's side now has to be a couple more goals to overhaul Burkina Faso in the best second-place rankings and secure a playoff spot. 

As things stand, Benin need the mother of all comebacks to win this game and salvage a historic World Cup qualification. Their four points take off Zimbabwe would not come into the best second-place calculations so they would not end up in the top four with a draw.

45 mins: We're into five minutes of first-half stoppage time. As things stand Nigeria are the fourth-best second-placed team. However DR Congo play Sudan later in a game they are expected to win. The key team are Burkina Faso, will have the same points in the final calculations if Nigeria win but have a +6 goal difference. Osimhen's second goal moved Nigeria on to +5...

37 mins: GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!!!! Victor Osimhen!!!!

Brilliant goal from Nigeria and now they might really start to believe. Chukwueze hangs up another fine cross from the right and Osimhen gets up with a Ronaldo-esque leap to power home the header.

29 mins: Dokou with a smart pass through to Andreas Hountondji, who draws a sharp save from Nwabali. Both sides really need to go for it now, given the situation in the South Africa game.

28 mins: South Africa are now 2-0 up against Rwanda. 

26 mins: Akor looks poised to put Nigeria 2-0 ahead but Cedric Hountondji makes a fabulous last-ditch challenge. Chukwueze again the creator.

22 mins: Chukwueze has started this one really well. He cuts back onto his left foot to cross from the right flank. It's a nice delivery but the Benin defence have Osimhen well-marshalled on this occasion and he heads over.

17 mins: Left wing corner for Benin that Nwabali claims confidently. That's smooth work from a goalkeeper who endured some hairy moments towards the end of the Lesotho match.

13 mins: Nicely worked Benin attack from the left but Mounie sidefoots his effort at a nice height for Nwabali. A warning for Nigeria.

9 mins: Through ball aimed for Mounie is cut out excellently by Sanusi before the Nigeria left-back drives his team forward.

7 mins: Oh, there's been another early goal. South Africa lead Rwanda 1-0. As it stands, that puts Bafana Bafana top of the group, with Nigeria in second but the Super Eagles needing to feather their goal difference to finish as one of he top four runners-up.

3 mins: GOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!! Victor Osimhen!!!!

Lift-off in Uyo. Benin are careless with the ball around halfway. Chukwueze takes one touch to get he ball out of his feet and with his second slots a delicious throughball for Osimhen, who charges through on goal and finishes emphatically.

2 mins: Ball over the top looking for Osimhen has too much on it and runs through to Dandjinou.

Kickoff

Off we go. A lobbed ball goalwards gives Nwabali some early work in the Nigeria goal.

5 mins before kickoff: Here come the teams. A gigantic 90 minutes coming up.

30 mins before kickoff: The most eyebrow-raising of Eric Chelle's calls is the decision to drop captain William Troost-Ekong to the bench. The skipper scored the vital first goal against Lesotho from the penalty spot, but Chelle is clearly keen to see a nerve backline bolstered by Semi Ajayi alongside Calvin Bassey at centre-back. Wilfred Ndidi will captain the side today.

50 mins before kickoff: No team news on the official Benin X account just yet, but here's a leopard eating an eagle. No messing about!

𝐉-𝟏
🇳🇬⚔️🇧🇯
Ce n'est pas un derby, c'est une finale !#WCQ2026 #AllezLesGuépards 🐆🇧🇯 pic.twitter.com/LkRv321Orn

— Bénin Football 🇧🇯🐆 (@FootballBenin) October 13, 2025

1 hour before kickoff: Here's the Nigeria lineup and there are four changes from the Lesotho game. Akor Adams came off the bench to score and is rewarded with a start.

🔁 Four changes from our win over Lesotho
©️ Ndidi leads the team tonight
👕 Simon makes his 85th appearance
⚡️ Osimhen partners Akor Adams up front

Let’s get this over the line, boys 💪🏾#SoarSuperEagles | #FIFAWCQ pic.twitter.com/WOZRKqmFo8

— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) October 14, 2025

1hr 30 mins before kickoff: Part of the reason Benin head into this game as group leaders and with qualification for a maiden World Cup in their own hands is the reverse fixture. On June 10 last year, Les Guepards came from behind to secure a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Jodel Dossou and Steve Mounie.

2hr 15 mins before kickoff: So, let's have a spin through the permutations. First and foremost, Nigeria have to beat Benin to stand any chance of going through. Either a 1-0 win or victory without a clean sheet but by two clear goals will see them finish ahead of Gernot Rohr's side on goal difference.

However, even if they do that the Super Eagles can only top Group C if South Africa fail to beat Rwanda at home. Bafana Bafana are likely to be a little twitchy after drawing with Zimbabwe last time out.

If South Africa win, then Nigeria need a victory to finish second, at which point they will be in the rankings to finish inside the four best runners-up to reach the intercontinental playoffs. As things stand, it looks like they will need a four goal win over group leaders Benin to make that happen.

3 hours before kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News' live coverage of Nigeria vs. Benin in World Cup qualification. They've needed a favour from the Court of Arbitration for Sport and need another from Rwanda, along with taking care of their own business today. But the Super Eagles head into their final World Cup qualifier with a chance of reaching next year's finals.

Nigeria vs. Benin kick off time

The World Cup qualifying match kicks off in Uyo at 5 p.m. local time.

Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories:

Nigeria vs. Benin lineups, team news

Nigeria are without Ola Aina due to the injury the right-back suffered against South Africa last month.

Key attacker Ademola Lookman is suspended following the yellow card he collected against Lesotho.

Victor Osimhen will be hoping to add to his three goals in qualifying, while Fulham's Alex Iwobi is likely to anchor the midfield alongside Wilfred Ndidi.

Nigeria (4-2-2-2, right to left): Nwabali (GK) — Fredrick, Ajayi, Bassey, Sanusi— Ndidi, Iwobi —  Chukwueze, Simon — Osimhen, Adams

Nigeria subs: Adebayo, Troost-Ekong, Arokodare, Onyeka, Onyemaechi, Abdullahi, Obasogie, Uche, Moffi, Olusegun.

For all the focus on Nigeria, Benin are in the box seat to make history and reach their first World Cup.

Former Huddersfield Town striker Steve Mounie will be supported in attack by experienced attacking midfielder Jodel Dossou. Both men scored when Benin won the reverse fixture 2-1.

Benin (4-2-3-1, right to left): Dandjinou (GK) — Ouorou, Verdon, Tijani, Roche — D'Almeida, Imourane — Dossou, Dokou, Hountondji — Mounie

Benin subs: Fassinou, Tessilimi, Ahlinvi, Rachidou, Ahouangbo, Amoussou, Allagbe, Olaitan Ishola, Dossou, Kossi, Samadou, Obassa.

Nigeria vs. Benin live stream, TV channel

Here is how to watch the match in some of the world's major regions: