Victor Osimhen Delivers As Nigeria Beat Benin to Revive Chances of Qualifying for World Cup

• Victor Osimhen shines as Nigeria revive their hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after defeating the Benin Republic on Tuesday evening
• The Super Eagles star showed off why he's rated as one of the best strikers in the world, with a Man of the Match performance against the Cheetahs
• Nigeria's win over the Benin Republic helped Bafana Bafana secure automatic qualification for the World Cup

Victor Osimhen pulled off a top-notch performance as Nigeria thumped Benin 4-0, but it was not enough to secure an automatic ticket for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.

The Galatasaray striker scored a hat-trick, while Frank Onyeka added the final goal to secure a place among the best second-placed teams in the qualifiers.
Nigeria's win against the Cheetahs also guaranteed South Africa’s qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Osimhen shines as Nigeria beats Benin
Osimhen set the tone and calmed Nigerians' nerves by putting the Super Eagles ahead in the second minute with a brilliant finish after being set up by Samuel Chukwueze.
Nigeria continued to dominate the tie and was rewarded with another goal before the half-time break. Chukwueze was the provider once again as the former AC Milan winger put in a superb cross to find Osimhen in the box, and the former Napoli striker made no mistake to double the Super Eagles' advantage with a fantastic header.
The first half ended with a deserved 2-0 lead for the Super Eagles, with the Cheetahs finding it difficult to find answers to Eric Chelle's men's attack.
Chelle, who declared war on Benin before the game, gave Rohr's side exactly what they needed, as Nigeria came into the second half dominant, as they had ended the first.
Osimhen capped off a blistering performance at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium with his third header to complete his hat-trick. Moses Simon put in a cross from a free-kick won by Akor Adams, and the Nigerian frontman pulled off another superb header to give his nation a 3-0 lead.

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The win means South Africa has secured the top-place finish in Group C, but the Super Eagles needed another goal to guarantee a playoff spot.

With the match edging towards the closing stages, Nigeria found the breakthrough as Brentford star and second-half substitute Frank Onyeka scored the fourth goal to secure the Super Eagles a place in the playoffs.

Bafana Bafana thrashed Rwanda 3-0 and are heading to next year's global football tournament in style, while Nigeria will battle Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Gabon for a place in the intercontinental play-offs.
The play-offs are set to take place in Morocco during the next international break in November, with the winner between the four teams going on to represent Africa against the other continent's representative.

Bafana Bafana hit with a major blow

Briefly News also reported that Bafana Bafana were hit with a major blow ahead of their tie against Rwanda.

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Broos' side lost one of their key players to injury hours before the kick-off against the Amavubi.

Source: Briefly News