Nigeria and Gabon senior men national teams go to war on Thursday evening in a 2026 FIFA World Cup African playoff semi-final that promises to raise the roof of the Complexe Sportif Prince Heritier Moulay Al Hassan in Rabat. The high-stakes encounter, which provides a second window for both teams to try and qualify for the 2026 finals in the USA, Canada and Mexico after missing automatic tickets in Africa’s 23-month qualifying campaign, will see both Coaches Eric Chelle and Thierry Mouyouma throw in their best casts to ensure passage into the Final match, which will set up the victor against the winner of the other semi-final between Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, at the same venue on Sunday. Nigeria, six-time finalists at the FIFA World Cup, have assumed a body language of unwillingness to witness a second consecutive FIFA World Cup finals miss, which would mean no experience at the highest level for the spine of the current team, while Gabon, who have never dined at football’s highest table, are eager to experience what it all means. The ingredients for a fiery evening in Morocco’s administrative capital is complete, with both Chelle and Mouyouma likely to adopt the 4-3-3 formation to play to the strengths of their lead orchestrators. Chelle, unbeaten in four competitive matches with Nigeria in the qualifying campaign (three wins and a draw), will most likely stick with goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali, and in the absence of injured Olaoluwa Aina (injury) and Semi Ajayi (suspension), probably calibrate a rearguard of Benjamin Fredericks, captain William Ekong, Calvin Bassey and Zaidu Sanusi, with Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi and Frank Onyeka in midfield. 2023 Africa Player of the Year Victor Osimhen, who netted six goals in the qualifying series (all against three teams viz Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Benin Republic), is likely to have Samuel Chukwueze and Ademola Lookman as partners from the off. The rampant Osimhen, with 29 goals in 44 matches for the Nigeria senior team, has netted 160 goals and 36 assists in 275 club career matches, and is presently one of the most feared forwards in world football. Gabon emerged the best second runners-up in all the nine qualification groups, and hinge their hopes of an upset on 36-year- old forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has turned out for English Premiership side Arsenal and German Bundesliga top team Borussia Dortmund, and is now with former European champions Olympique Marseille in France. The brilliant forward’s father, Pierre-François Aubameyang, featured for the Panthers at the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia, in which the Panthers lost their first match 0-3 to Nigeria and crashed out at group stage, as the Eagles went on to win their second continental title. Mouyouma is likely to stick to his regular army, which puts Loyce Mbaba in goal, with youngster Jacques Ekomie alongside Bruno Manga, Mick Omfia and Anthony Oyono at the rear, and Guélor Kanga, Mario Lemina and Didier Ndong in midfield. Aubameyang, who scored all four goals in the dismantling of The Gambia away in the qualifying series, will have regular partners Denis Bouanga and Noah Lemina as co-conspirators at the fore. Mouyouma has revealed that his Panthers are contemplating the quick, short passing game to force Nigeria’s matadors to chase the game, while Chelle has kept his option to his chest as the fiery encounter looms. Nigeria have been victorious in five of nine previous encounters with Gabon at senior men level, dating back 60 years, when Nigeria won and drew friendly matches played over two days in Libreville. Gabon’s only triumph – a 2-1 win in a World Cup qualifier on 25th June 1989 – ultimately cost Nigeria a ticket to Italia ’90 as the Eagles failed to secure the draw needed against Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions in Yaounde on the final day of the series. Three of the nine matches have been drawn, including a Germany 2006 World Cup qualifier, but Thursday’s game cannot end in a draw, as a winner must emerge to proceed to Sunday’s Final. SUPER EAGLES, PANTHERS IN HISTORY 28 Aug 1965: Gabon 2-2 Nigeria (Friendly) 29 Aug 1965: Gabon 1-4 Nigeria (Friendly) 02 Mar 1983: Gabon 0-0 Nigeria (Friendly) 07 Jan 1989: Nigeria 1-0 Gabon (WC qualifier) 25 June 1989: Gabon 2-1 Nigeria (WC qualifier) 26 Mar 1994: Nigeria 3-0 Gabon (AFCON finals) 21 Nov 1999: Gabon 0-2 Nigeria (Friendly) 09 Oct 2004: Gabon 1-1 Nigeria (WC qualifier) 26 Mar 2005: Nigeria 2-0 Gabon (WC qualifier)
