Ranking of runners-up: Bafana Bafana and Cheetahs miss out, Super Eagles still in contention for playoffs

South Africa's Bafana Bafana and Benin's Cheetahs are no longer in contention for a playoff spot heading into the final matchday of the 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, alnigeriasoccer.com reports.

Hugo Broos' side now have only one route to next year's tournament in North America, by defeating Rwanda and hoping that Benin fail to pull off another upset win against the Super Eagles.

On 14 March 2025, CAF notified member associations that results against the sixth-placed teams would be discounted when ranking the group runners-up, following the withdrawal of Eritrea from Group E.

Under this revised calculation, Bafana Bafana's points earned against Zimbabwe's Warriors would be excluded. 

Even if they secure victory over Rwanda this evening, they would finish with 14 points, a total that places them outside the top four in the runners-up standings.

Gabon are already assured of a place among the top four runners-up regardless of the outcome of their final fixture against Burundi. 

As things stand, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Niger, each on 15 points, complete the top four when results against the sixth-placed teams are discounted.

Nigeria remain in contention for a playoff berth, having accumulated 12 points under the adjusted standings that exclude Zimbabwe’s results, while Benin will miss out on the playoffs but can still qualify directly by finishing top of Group C.

The Super Eagles could leapfrog both Niger and Burkina Faso if they defeat the Cheetahs by more than two goals in their decisive encounter.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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