Nigeria’s soccer coach has accused the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) of practicing “voodoo” after his squad’s hopes of qualifying for next year’s FIFA World Cup ended in a penalty shoot-out loss in the African playoff final.
DR Congo and Nigeria drew 1-1 after extra-time in the tie in Rabat, Morocco, on Sunday and the central Africans won 4-3 on penalties to book a place in inter-confederation playoffs in Mexico in March next year.
In his post-match remarks to journalists, coach Eric Chelle said a member of the DR Congo team “did some voodoo, every time, every time, every time.”
Photo: EPA
“That is why I was a bit nervous,” said former Mali international Chelle, who took charge of Nigeria in January.
Chelle had admitted prior to the match that it was going to “be very difficult in Morocco.”
Using hand gestures, he said he saw a DR Congo member waving his hand as if sprinkling or shaking something.
“I don’t know if it’s water or something like that,” he said.
In a nervy shoot-out in which four spot-kicks were saved and another missed, DR Congo captain Chancel Mbemba defied a bottle thrown toward him and torrential rain to convert the winning penalty as his team seek a return to the global showpiece after a lengthy absence.
Nigeria, African soccer giants, lie 19 places above DR Congo in the world rankings and were pre-match favorites.
The Super Eagles failed to qualify for the second World Cup in a row. They had not missed back-to-back editions since their debut in 1994.
While Nigeria have been regular participants at the World Cup, the sole appearance by DR Congo came in 1974 when the mineral-rich central African nation was called Zaire.
The Nigeria Football Federation in a statement said that it wanted “to openly and sincerely apologize” for missing out on the World Cup, calling the loss “a moment of profound sadness for Nigerian football.”
“Missing out on the World Cup for a second consecutive time is a disappointment of great weight and emotional depth,” the federation said on social media.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu urged the squad to “put behind them the loss” and to focus on preparing for the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, which starts on Dec. 21.
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