Nigeria has received a major boost in their 2026 World Cup qualification hopes as the Confederation of African Football (CAF) revised the qualifying rules following Eritrea’s withdrawal from the competition.

Eritrea’s exit has caused a significant imbalance, leaving Group E with only five teams instead of six.

To maintain fairness, CAF and FIFA are considering removing points earned against the bottom-placed team in each group when determining the best runners-up.

In a circular dated March 14, 2025, and signed by CAF’s Director of Tournaments and Events, Samson Adamu, the body explained that whenever a group has fewer than five teams due to withdrawal or disqualification, results against the lowest-ranked or withdrawn teams will not count when comparing second-placed sides.