The Super Eagles of Nigeria will miss the 2026 World Cup after losing to the Democratic Republic of Congo 4-3 on penalties in the final playoffs of African qualifiers at the Stade Prince Moulay Hassan in Rabat, Morocco, on Sunday, November 16.

Having entered the mini-tournament in Rabat as best runners-up across the nine African qualifying groups, Nigeria had gotten to a promising start courtesy of a 4-1 win over Gabon last Thursday. Coach Eric Chelle then made two changes to his last starting lineup for the finals, with the changes yielding an early dividend as Frank Onyeka latched on to a cleared ball to give Nigeria the lead about three minutes into the encounter.

However, Congo equalised through Elia Meschack in the 31st minute and thereon took control of the proceedings, with the Super Eagles further losing their bite with the substitution of star man Victor Osimhen at halftime.

Congo were the more ambitious of the sides up until extra time, but most of the refereeing decisions were in favour of the Super Eagles, till the inevitable happened in the penalties. The three-time African champions got off to a bad start, with Calvin Bassey and Moses Simon both missing their kicks, rendering Stanley Nwabali’s saves redundant as Congo’s captain Chancel Mbemba converted the last kick to nail Nigeria’s coffin.

The result means Nigeria will miss the World Cup for the second consecutive time after missing the last edition, while Congo holds a chance to make it to the World Cup competition for the first time since it did in 1974, when it was still referred to as Zaire.