Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has been omitted from Nigeria’s starting lineup for the final Group C match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Benin Republic.
Central defence will now feature Semi Ajayi partnering Calvin Bassey, while Eric Chelle, the team’s head coach, has handed striker Akor Adams his first start. The 25-year-old forward impressed on his debut, coming off the bench to score in Nigeria’s 2-1 win over Lesotho on Friday. He will spearhead the attack alongside Victor Osimhen.
Zaidu Sanusi replaces Bruno Onyeamaechi at left-back, and Samuel Chukwueze comes in for suspended Ademola Lookman. Midfielders Simon Moses, Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Frederick Benjamin, and Stanley Nwabali retain their roles from the previous game.
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The match kicks off at 5 p.m. at Godswill Akpabio Stadium. Nigeria currently sits third in Group C with 14 points and must defeat Benin Republic by a significant margin or maintain a clean sheet, while hoping South Africa fail to win against Rwanda, to secure an automatic World Cup spot.
Super Eagles Starting XI: Stanley Nwabali; Semi Ajayi, Benjamin Fredrick, Calvin Bassey, Zaidu Sanusi; Wilfred Ndidi (C), Alex Iwobi; Moses Simon, Samuel Chukwueze, Akor Adams, Victor Osimhen.
