Star African strikers Victor Osimhen of Nigeria and Bryan Mbeumo of Cameroon want to grace the 2026 World Cup tournament, but only one of them can succeed.
Nigeria face Gabon and Cameroon meet the Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday in Rabat in the semifinals of an African playoffs series for the global showpiece.
The winners clash on Sunday, also in the Moroccan capital, with a place in inter-continental play-offs next March on the line.
Whoever represents Africa will be joined by two teams from Central America/Caribbean region plus Bolivia, New Caledonia and Iraq or UAE with two World Cup slots up for grabs.
Nigeria are firm favourites and Cameroon slight favourites to reach the final, and continue the fight to be among the 48 qualifiers for an expanded World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
When a 10-round African qualifying competition ended last month, Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia secured qualification as group winners.
Now, the four best runners-up get a second chance, and Osimhen and Mbeumo could play key roles in deciding which country moves closer to giving Africa a 10th representative.
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