Nigeria forfeit Algeria match but World Cup qualification not affected

Courtesy: Twitter (@Arsenal)

Zurich: Nigeria have forfeited their World Cup qualifier away to Algeria and been handed a 3-0 walkover defeat for fielding an ineligible player in the match, global soccer body FIFA said on Tuesday.

The fixture on Nov. 10 ended 1-1 and FIFA added that the decision did not affect the final standings in African Group B, nor Nigeria`s qualification for next year`s World Cup in Russia, as they had finished six points clear of Zambia.

FIFA said that East Timor had forfeited seven games in the World Cup qualifiers for fielding a total of nine players who were ineligible because of nationality. This was based on a decision previously taken by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).