Super Eagles Cancel U.S. Friendlies to Prepare for 2026 World Cup Play-Offs

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have officially called off their planned international friendlies against Venezuela and Colombia in the United States next month, following their qualification for the 2026 World Cup play-offs.

A source close to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) confirmed the development to ESPN, citing the team’s need to focus on the crucial qualification matches.

Last month, the NFF had announced that Nigeria would face Venezuela on November 14 at the Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, and Colombia on November 18 at Citi Field in New York.

However, after the Super Eagles’ emphatic 4-0 victory over Benin Republic secured them a late entry into the World Cup play-offs, the federation decided to cancel the U.S. tour to prioritize preparation for the upcoming qualifiers.

“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 NFF official told ESPN.

“Our goal is to concentrate on the playoffs now and qualify from Africa and then focus on the intercontinental playoffs.”

Nigeria, the top-ranked team in the play-offs, will face Gabon in the semi-final round. The winner of that match will take on either Cameroon or Congo DR in the final, with the overall victor advancing to represent Africa in the intercontinental play-offs for a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

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