CAF confirms date for Eagles final AFCON qualifiers

The dates and locations of the senior men's national team's final two Group D games against Rwanda and Benin in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series were confirmed by the Nigeria Football Federation on Tuesday.

The Confederation of African Football has set November 14 and 18 as the dates for the two matches, according to NFF.

On Thursday, November 14, at Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny, the Super Eagles will travel to Abidjan for their Matchday 5 matchup with the Benin Republic.

Senegalese officials will officiate this match, which is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Nigerian time (7 p.m. Ivorian time). Issa Sy will serve as the centre referee. As deputy referees, Djibril Camara and Nouha Bangoura will accompany him, while El Hadji Amadou Sy will serve as the fourth official. Ivorian Rene Williams Sere will be the commissioner while Angolan Inacio Manuel Candido will be the referee assessor.
On Monday, November 18, the three-time Africa Champions will play their last match of the qualifying round at Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.

Moroccan referee Samir Guezzaz will officiate the match, which is scheduled to begin at 5 PM Nigerian time. Assistants Zakaria Brinsi and Abdessamad Abertoune will help Guezzaz.

The fourth official will be Kech Chaf Mustapha, the match commissioner will be Prosper Harrison Addo of Ghana, and the referee assessor will be Ali Mohamed Ahmed of Somalia.

With 10 points from four games, the Eagles are now leading their Group D, four points ahead of Benin Republic, who are in second place, and Rwanda, who have five points. Libya, in last place, is eliminated from the race for qualifying after receiving just one point.

With one game remaining, the Super Eagles will advance to the finals in Morocco, which are set for December 2025/January 2026, if they defeat or draw with the Cheetahs of the Benin Republic in Abidjan.

After receiving subpar treatment, including having their flight rerouted to a different city and being held hostage at the Al-Abraq airport outside of Benghazi for nearly 20 hours without access to food, drink, or the internet, the Eagles decided to skip their last qualifying match against Libya.