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Nigeria have one more roll of the dice as they try to escape from World Cup qualification with a place at the finals.
A tense victory over Lesotho last week kept the Super Eagles in touch with group leaders Benin, who they host in Uyo, knowing only a victory will do.
To overhaul Benin in the standings, Nigeria must win either 1-0 or by a margin of two goals. However, if South Africa beat Rwanda in Mbombela, that will only be good enough for second place.
That would put Nigeria in the rankings of runner-up teams from the nine groups, with the four best of those progressing to an inter-confederation playoff.
If DR Congo beat Sudan as expected, then Eric Chelle's side will need to beat Benin by a four-goal margin to leapfrog Burkina Faso as the fourth-best runner-up.
The key detail is that Nigeria must win to stand any chance, something they have only managed in three out of nine qualifiers to date.
Nigeria vs. Benin live score
| 2nd Half | Goal scorers | |
| Nigeria | 3 | Osimhen 3', 37', 51 |
| Benin | 0 |
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— 4. Wilfred Ndidi, 17. Alex Iwobi — 11. Samuel Chukwueze (22. Olakunle Olusegun), 15. Moses Simon — 9. Victor Osimhen, 20. Akor Adams
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 — 9. Dodo Dokou, 17. Andreas Hountondji — 9. Steve Mounie
Nigeria vs. Benin live updates, highlights, and commentary
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
— Bénin Football 🇧🇯🐆 (@FootballBenin) October 13, 2025
🇳🇬⚔️🇧🇯
Ce n'est pas un derby, c'est une finale !#WCQ2026 #AllezLesGuépards 🐆🇧🇯 pic.twitter.com/LkRv321Orn
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
— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) October 14, 2025
©️ 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
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:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA | Tue, Oct 14 | 12:00 p.m. ET |
| Canada | Tue, Oct 14 | 12:00 p.m. ET |
| UK | Tue, Oct 14 | 5:00 p.m. BST |
| Australia | Wed, Oct 15 | 3:00 a.m. AEDT |
| India | Tue, Oct 14 | 10:30 p.m. IST |
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:
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| USA | — | ESPN Select, ESPN App |
| Canada | — | FIFA+ |
| UK | — | FIFA+ |
| Australia | — | FIFA+ |
| India | — | FIFA+ |