{"id":171734,"date":"2025-11-13T14:40:04","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T14:40:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/nigeria-vs-gabon-live-updates-latest-from-todays-world-cup-2026-qualifier-caf-semifinal-the-new-york-times\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T14:40:04","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T14:40:04","slug":"nigeria-vs-gabon-live-updates-latest-from-todays-world-cup-2026-qualifier-caf-semifinal-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/nigeria-vs-gabon-live-updates-latest-from-todays-world-cup-2026-qualifier-caf-semifinal-the-new-york-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria vs Gabon live updates: Latest from today\u2019s World Cup 2026 qualifier CAF semifinal – The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

World Cup
2026 World
Cup Countdown
live
Updated 10m ago<\/span>
Nigeria face Gabon in the play-off semi-final of African qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.<\/strong>
The winners will advance to Sunday's final against Cameroon or DR Congo, with a place in March's intercontinental play-off on the line.
Nigeria disappointed in their World Cup qualifying group, losing out on top spot to South Africa by one point. Gabon won eight of their 10 matches, but Ivory Coast pipped them to top spot.
Winning today will be front and centre for both sets of players but the prospect of AFCON (Africa Cup of Nations) in Morocco just a few weeks away is looming large.
Nigeria will be looking to go one better than last time, where they finished runners-up to Ivory Coast.
They will face Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda in the group stage at AFCON.
Nigeria have the superior record in the nine meetings between the two nations across the years, with five wins.
Gabon have beaten tonight\u2019s opponents just once before \u2014 back in 1989 \u2014 while they have shared three draws.
Where the spotlight (and the pressure to score goals) once rested on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for Gabon, things have shifted to a new face in recent times.
Denis Bouanga is the man lighting up MLS in the United States, with a remarkable 26 goals and nine assists in 33 matches for LAFC.
The 31-year-old has 16 goals in 51 Gabon games and will be a significant threat to Nigeria should he start today.
The man with the mask is easy to spot \u2014 not least because he scores goals so often and can be found wheeling away in celebration. Victor Osimhen has been in prolific form in recent seasons for Napoli and now Galatasaray, after earlier spells at Lille and Wolfsburg.
With the 2023 African Football of the Year Award to his name as well as a Serie A crown and Turkish Super Lig title, the 26-year-old is one of the hot strikers in world football.
Nigerian fans will be well aware that Osimhen has scored nine goals in 12 games for Galatasaray this season, including six of those in the Champions League.
Leading Gabon is Thierry Mouyouma, a former defender who played for the national team 32 times between 1995 and 2006.
The 50-year-old has been in charge of the national team as manager since 2023 and has won six of his 14 matches in charge.
Can he help his team pull off something of an upset in Rabat today?
In the dugout for Nigeria and tasked with masterminding their route to the World Cup is Eric Chelle.
The Ivorian-born 48-year-old has been in position since January and has eight wins from his 13 matches in charge.
A five-time Mali international who played for French clubs Valenciennes and Lens, among others, in his club career, the pressure is on as he leads a well supported and highly populated Nigeria.
The African teams that have already qualified for next summer's World Cup will be using this international window to prepare for the Africa Cup of Nations later this year.
Nigeria, Gabon and the rest of the continent's best teams make their way to Morocco for the start of the tournament on December 21 and will battle it out for a place in the final on January 18, 2026.
Ivory Coast are the reigning champions and will hope to make that final to defend their title, which will also be played in the Moroccan capital, Rabat.
Of course, there will be live coverage of the tournament on The Athletic<\/strong><\/em>. We hope to see you then.
At the time when Nigeria needed on-field unity the most, the divide between players and the Nigerian Football Federation widened once again.
Reports earlier in the week suggested that the players and officials were boycotting training because of unresolved issues with outstanding payments. Writing in response to those reports on X on Tuesday evening, captain William Troost-Ekong said:
💬 \u201cOnce resolution is found we will be the first to confirm. Any other statement\/claim or ESPECIALLY demands other than the rightful request written about below is FALSE. All we want and continue to do is focus on the big games ahead.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>
Yesterday afternoon, Troost-Ekong admitted the issue had been resolved, so he and his team-mates returned to training ahead of today's huge match.
I think we can file their pre-match prep under 'far from ideal'…
It\u2019s safe to say that Nigeria are favourites in this match \u2014 and in the play-off campaign as a whole \u2014 thanks to the host of talented players within their squad, from Victor Osimhen to Zaidu Sanusi and beyond.
Fans of English football will not struggle to pick out names and faces that they know.
Among them, Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey and William Troost-Ekong are just a few who are currently or past players in the Premier League and Championship.
And what about Nigeria?
They finished second place in Group C behind 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa in a very tight qualification group.
South Africa were top with 18 points, and though Nigeria pipped third-placed Benin on goal difference, both finished on 17, one off the South Africans.
Hence the play-off.
So, how did Gabon get to the play-offs?
Well, they finished runners-up in Group F of CAF qualifying.
They trailed group winners Ivory Coast by a point, who qualified automatically for next summer\u2019s World Cup as a result.
And here is a look at the players available to Gabon:
Goalkeepers:<\/strong> Fran\u00e7ois Bekale, Loyce Mbaba, Lukas Mounguenou.
Defenders: <\/strong>Aaron Appindangoye, Jonathan Do Marcolino, Jacques Ekomie, Bruno Ecuele Manga, Yannis M'Bemba, Alex Moucketou-Moussounda, Johann Obiang, Mick Onfia, Anthony Oyono, Jeremy Oyono.
Midfielders:<\/strong> Samake Nze Bagnama, Guelor Kanga, Noha Lemina, Mario Lemina, Didier Ndong, Andr\u00e9 Poko.
Forwards: <\/strong>Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Teddy Averlant, Denis Bouanga, Alan Do Marcolino, Randy Essang-Matouti, Bryan Meyo, Royce Openda.
Here are the players available to Eric Chelle for this international break:
Goalkeepers: <\/strong>Stanley Nwabali, Amas Obasogie, Maduka Okoye.
Defenders: <\/strong>Semi Ajayi, Chidozie Awaziem, Calvin Bassey, Benjamin Fredrick, Bruno Onyemaechi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Zaidu Sanusi, William Troost-Ekong.
Midfielders: <\/strong>Alex Iwobi, Wilfred Ndidi, Raphael Onyedika, Frank Onyeka, Alhassan Yusuf.
Forwards: <\/strong>Akor Adams, Tolu Arokodare, Samuel Chukwueze, Chidera Ejuke, Ademola Lookman, Olakunle Olusegun, Victor Osimhen, Moses Simon.
The equation for these two teams is pretty simple: don't lose any of their next four games.
It is the ultimate win-or-go-home situation for Nigeria and Gabon.
A win in today's game would take them into the final of this CAF mini-tournament on Sunday against either Cameroon or DR Congo. Victory in that match at the weekend would grant them a place in the intercontinental play-off in March where two more wins will be required to book their place at the 2026 World Cup.
Put simply, they need to win all of their next four games \u2014 nice and easy, then…
The winner of today\u2019s match will take on the winner of the match Cameroon or DR Congo.
They play in the other semi-final later today, kicking off at 7pm GMT in the UK, 2pm ET and 11am PT in the U.S.
There is a sizeable slate of international fixtures today, including both World Cup qualifiers (WCQs) and international friendlies (IFs). Perhaps the most significant of the other games is the other CAF play-off semi-final between Cameroon and DR Congo.
Here are a few of the others:
The Athletic<\/em><\/strong> is the best place to be for all sports fans.
In soccer, the Premier League will continue after this international break with AFCON following before the end of the year, while across the pond the NFL and NBA seasons are under way.
Plus there is coverage of college football, F1, tennis and plenty beyond. You can follow all of that \u2014 and so much more \u2014 right here.
Subscribe on an exclusive offer here<\/a>.
Moulay Hassan Stadium, Rabat, Morocco<\/strong>
Home of club FUS Rabat since 2012<\/strong>, the stadium has been recently renovated in preparation for Morocco hosting the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The capacity is 22,000<\/strong> and the stadium is part of a wider sports complex in the city of Rabat, the country's capital city.
For those of you looking to tune in to the action alongside our live coverage, here's how you can do it:<\/p>\n

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World Cup2026 WorldCup CountdownliveUpdated 10m agoNigeria face Gabon in the play-off semi-final of African qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.The winners will advance to Sunday's final against Cameroon or DR Congo, with a place in March's intercontinental play-off on the line. Nigeria disappointed in their World Cup qualifying group, losing out on top spot to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":171735,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-171734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}