The Super Eagles of Nigeria were at home today, winning 4-0 over Benin Republic having Victor Osimhen deliver a hat-trick for his country, Nigeria. The hat – trick goals by Osimhem today granted him 6 goals and 1 assist for the club / country this season and 29 goals for Nigeria in 43 matches – eight (8) goals behind Rashidi Yekini, who is the Nigerian all-time goalscorer.

 The victory didn’t give Nigeria an automatic ticket to the world, but only the CAF playoff competition that would feature the four best runners-up from the nine qualifying groups. Why is it always like this for a great country like Nigeria always having problems in qualifying games? What I think is that Nigeria don’t have proper preparation for it at the beginning of the qualification and also, most of their players are not determined enough for the country. Below is how Nigeria got to miss the automatic qualification.

Under coach Jose Peseiro:

Nigeria 1-1 Lesotho.

Zimbabwe 1-1 Nigeria.

* 2 games.

* 2 points.

Under coach Finidi George:

Nigeria 1-1 South Africa.

Benin Republic 2-1 Nigeria.

* 2 games.

* 1 point.

Areic Chelle:

Rwanda 0-2 Nigeria.

Nigeria 1-1 Zimbabwe.

Nigeria 1-0 Rwanda.

South Africa 1-1 Nigeria.

Lesotho 1-2 Nigeria.

Nigeria 4-0 Benin.

* 6 games.

* 14 points.

Playing draw at home for the three good games, even against Lesotho.

List of the Best second place teams in World Cup qualifier’s
Nigeria. 17 points
Gabon 16 points
Cameroon 15 point
Burkina Faso 15 points
Uganda 15 points
Niger. 15 points
DR Congo. 13 points
Madagascar. 13points
Namibia. 9point

*CAF Playoff Format:*
– *4 teams*
– *Single-leg semifinals* (neutral venue or as decided by CAF)
– *Single-leg final*
– *Winner* advances to the *Intercontinental Playoff*