The Super Eagles will no longer proceed with their planned international friendlies against Venezuela and Colombia in the United States next month, a source close to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has confirmed to ESPN.
The NFF had earlier announced that Nigeria would face Venezuela at the Shell Energy Stadium in Houston on November 14 and Colombia at Citi Field in New York on November 18.
However, following their recent 4-0 victory over Benin Republic, which secured a late qualification for the World Cup play-offs, the fixtures have been cancelled to allow the team concentrate on the crucial qualifiers.
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The play-offs will feature Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo, and Gabon in a one-legged, two-semi-final format, with the overall winner advancing to the intercontinental play-offs for a spot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“We had a clause in the contract for the games covering this eventuality, if we qualified for the playoffs. So we will not be going ahead with the matches any more,” an official told ESPN.
“Our goal is to concentrate on the playoffs now and qualify from Africa and then focus on the intercontinental playoffs.”
The Super Eagles of Nigeria are ranked highest in the play-offs and would play Gabon. The winner of the tie plays against the winner of the tie between Cameroon and Congo DR.
