FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers: For the second consecutive time, Nigeria won't be taking part in the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026. During the finals of the 2026 World Cup Qualification CAF, Nigeria needed to clinch a win against DR Congo, but the Super Falcons lost the match 3-4 in a penalty shootout. At full time, the score was leveled at 1-1, and the crucial game was decided in a shootout.
Now, Nigeria have failed to qualify for back-to-back FIFA World Cups. Earlier in the 2023 edition of the prestigious event, Nigeria failed to qualify for the main event. The exit of Nigeria came as a shock to many, given that they had star players in the squad, such as Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman.
During the Qualifier fixture against DR Congo, Nigerian attacker Victor Osimhen sustained an injury and had to be pulled off the field. Osimhen's absence put Nigeria in trouble, and now they are out of the prestigious tournament.
Following the defeat, Nigeria's head coach Éric Chelle claimed that DR Congo staff members used voodoo during the penalty shootout, which stopped the Super Falcons from qualifying.
“The guy of Congo did some voodoo. Every time, every time, every time, so this is why I was a little nervous (of) him,” Éric Chelle said as quoted by AP.
During the match, it was seen that Nigeria's head coach Éric Chelle ran towards the DR Congo coaching staff in anger.
DR Congo head coach Sebastien Desabre's masterstroke helped them beat Nigeria after he substituted first goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi for Timothy Fayulu. During the shootout, Timothy saved Nigeria two penalty kicks, from Moses Simon and Semi Ajayi.
FIFA will conduct the six-team draw for the intercontinental playoffs on Thursday, November 20. The team includes DR Congo, Bolivia, New Caledonia, either Iraq or the United Arab Emirates, along with two teams from the CONCACAF region in North America, whose qualifying campaign will be concluding on Tuesday, November 18.
