Mali’s national team coach, Tom Saintfiet, has expressed his concern about the Super Eagles of Nigeria’s difficulties in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. According to him, Nigeria’s absence from the tournament would be a real surprise and a great disappointment.
In an interview with YouTube channel AySuga Naija Lifestyle, Saintfiet called the Super Eagles “the best team in Africa” in recent years. “It would be a shame if the best team in Africa didn’t qualify. The Super Eagles are currently, and have been for the last three or four years, the best team in Africa ,” he declared.
However, Nigeria are going through a difficult period in their qualifying group. After four matches, the team occupies fifth place in Group C, behind Rwanda, South Africa, Benin and Lesotho. With no match won so far, the situation is becoming critical for the Super Eagles.
Despite this, Saintfiet remains optimistic about Nigeria’s chances of qualification. He underlined the quality of the Nigerian players and their potential to bounce back in the competition. ” With all due respect to our opponents, South Africa has an excellent coach and a good team, but Nigeria has so many qualities that it has to give everything. They have to make up for lost points. In this group, I think they’ll qualify ,” he asserted.
The next matches against Rwanda and Zimbabwe will therefore be crucial for Eric Chelle’s men, who need to pick up points to keep their hopes of qualification for the 2026 World Cup alive.