Nigeria vs South Africa tips and predictions: Nothing to separate Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana

On Friday, Nigeria will face South Africa in a World Cup 2026 qualifier as the two teams who are favourites to qualify from Group C meet.

Nigeria didn’t manage to qualify for the last World Cup as they were eliminated by Ghana in the final playoff game.

Despite that, the Nigerians came extremely close to winning the Africa Cup of Nations, after leading the final 1-0 at halftime before eventually losing to Ivory Coast.

Nigeria have made a disappointing start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, drawing 1-1 with Lesotho and 1-1 with Zimbabwe.

New manager Finidi George has a wealth of attacking talent, such as Victor Boniface, Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen, but has yet to get them firing.

South Africa finished third in the last edition of the African Cup of Nations after losing out to Nigeria in a semifinal penalty shootout.

They needed penalties again in the third-place playoff final against Congo, as it was 0-0 after 120 minutes.

South Africa started qualifying well with a 2-1 win at home against Benin, although they followed that up with a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Rwanda.

 

Key stats

Nigeria are unbeaten in eight matches
Both teams have scored in five of the last six meetings
Both teams have scored in three of Nigeria’s last four matches
Both teams have scored in three of South Africa’s last four matches

 

Suggested bets

Both teams to score

Match result: Draw

• Sergiu Baltuta provides tips as SVB Tips on Tipstrr