It was a delightful night in Rabat for the Democratic Republic of Congo as they secured a famous victory against the Super Eagles of Nigeria to reach the inter-confederation playoffs for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The DR Congo’s hopes of a first World Cup qualification since 1974 remain alive after a 4-3 penalty shootout win, following a 1-1 draw in a heated encounter that stretched over 120 minutes.
Nigeria got off to a flying start when Frank Onyeka put the West Africans ahead just three minutes into the match. The Congolese equalised through a Meschack Elia finish, and the game was eventually decided on penalties.
Captain Chancel Mbemba was once again the hero of the day as he converted the decisive spot-kick, with substitute goalkeeper Timothy Fayulu stealing the headlines after being brought on a minute before the shootout. He made two crucial saves to send his team through.
After the game, Nigeria’s head coach, Eric Chelle, alleged that one of the Congolese was practising “voodoo” during the penalty shootout.
At the end of his press conference, Chelle questioned why reporters had not raised the incident. Speaking in French, he gave his account: “DR Congo guys were doing maraboutage” (marabout referring to a North African spiritual figure often associated with witchcraft), he said, as quoted by The Athletic.
The 48-year-old further reiterated his claims in English while walking through the mixed zone: “During the penalty shootouts, a guy from Congo did some voodoo every time. So this is why I was a little [furious] after him.
A representative from the DR Congo denied Chelle’s claims.
DR Congo move closer to dream World Cup qualification
The play-offs will be held in March in North America, though exact dates and venues have yet to be confirmed.
DR Congo will now shift their attention to Thursday’s draw for the inter-confederation playoffs in March, where six teams will compete for the remaining two slots at the 48-team global showpiece.
Along with DR Congo, New Caledonia (who lost the final of the OFC’s automatic qualifying tournament to New Zealand) and Bolivia (who finished seventh in CONMEBOL’s round robin qualifying format) have already qualified for the play-offs. In Asia, the United Arab Emirates will take on Iraq over two legs to qualify for the play-offs — the first leg finished 1-1 in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, ahead of the return in Basra on November 18.
As the host confederation, CONCACAF will be represented twice in the play-offs by the two best runners-up from the third round of qualifying. Curacao and Costa Rica are the teams currently occupying those positions.
After the six participants are confirmed, they will be split into seeded and unseeded teams and into two separate pathways. The two highest FIFA-ranked sides will be seeded and move straight on to the final of each pathway.
The unseeded teams will consist of a pair of single-leg semi-finals, with the two winners advancing to the final. The two final winners will be the 47th and 48th nations at the 2026 men’s World Cup.
READ ALSO: DR Congo Defeat Nigeria on Penalties to Reach FIFA Inter-Confederation Playoffs
