Eagles land in Rabat for World Cup playoffs News

The Super Eagles have officially opened camp in Rabat, Morocco, ahead of the crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup Africa playoffs, as players and officials began to arrive on Sunday, The PUNCH reports.

According to the team’s media officer, Promise Efoghe, the camp opened on Sunday at the Rive Hotel in the Moroccan capital with eight players confirmed settled before two others were received at night.

Members of the technical crew, led by head coach Eric Chelle, are already on the ground, while players are arriving in batches from their respective clubs across Europe and other regions.

By Sunday evening, early arrivals in camp included Fulham trio Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey, Samuel Chukwueze, joined by Wilfred Ndidi, Tolu Arokodare, Moses Simon, Olakunle Olusegun and captain William Troost-Ekong.

According to Efoghe, Benjamin Frederick and Chidozie Awaziem were expected to join the team on Sunday night as well.

The squad will begin preparations for the semi-final clash against Gabon at the 22,000-capacity Complexe Sportif Prince Heritier Moulay Al Hassan in Rabat.

Chelle named a 24-man squad for the play-offs, with Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye and Sevilla winger Chidera Ejuke returning to the team. Okoye, who last featured for the Super Eagles in June, has regained his starting role in Serie A following an impressive run of form. His recall came amid calls for a more assured presence between the posts after recent inconsistencies from Stanley Nwabali.

Ejuke’s inclusion marks his first return to the national team since 2021. The winger has rediscovered form at Sevilla, where his pace and dribbling have been crucial in recent La Liga fixtures.

Nigeria will face Gabon in Thursday’s semi-final, while Cameroon will meet the Democratic Republic of Congo in the other fixture at the El-Barid Stadium, also in Rabat.

The winners of both matches will meet in the final on 16 November to determine who advances to the inter-confederation play-offs for a place at the 2026 World Cup in North America.

The Super Eagles, who last appeared at the global finals in 2018, are aiming to secure a return after missing out on the 2022 tournament in Qatar.