1 month ago
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Lost on penalties
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Only three African nations have qualified for more World Cups than Nigeria, but the Super Eagles’ dreams of participating in the United States, Mexico and Canada next summer are over. After beating Gabon 4-1, Nigeria progressed to the CAF World Cup qualifier final but they were defeated 4-3 on penalties to DR Congo, after a 1-1 draw after extra-time.
Nigeria took an early lead against their African rivals when Frank Onyeka scored after just three minutes but DR Congo equalised through Meschack Elia on the hour mark. The Super Eagles lost star man Victor Osimhen to injury at half-time and it ended in disaster as former Newcastle defender Chancel Mbemba scored the winning penalty in the shootout. It sparked furious scenes on the touchline with Nigeria head coach Éric Chelle accusing DR Congo of 'voodoo' as the Super Eagles missed out on their second consecutive World Cup.
Nigeria’s World Cup dream ends
Nigeria reached six of seven World Cups between 1994 and 2014 after qualifying for the first time. The Super Eagles lit up many tournaments with some iconic players, making it out of the group stages in 1994, 1998 and 2014. Nigeria are one of the superpowers of African football but they’ve struggled badly in recent years. And their elimination against DR Congo descended into a farce when Nigeria boss Chelle lost the plot during the penalty shootout.
The 48-year-old confronted the DR Congo bench before the final penalty of the shootout loss, picking up a water bottle as he tried to get to a member of the technical staff. And Chelle bizarrely claimed that a member of the DR Congo staff was performing voodoo against his side during the penalties. “During the entire penalty shootout, the guy from DR Congo was doing voodoo," said Chelle. “Every time, every time, every time. That's why I was a little nervous after him.”
How Nigeria rank amongst most valuable African nations
Nigeria’s squad is littered with household names, including the current African Footballer of the Year, Ademola Lookman and Galatasaray star Osimhen. The squad is full of players form the top five leagues and Nigeria currently has the third most valuable squad from all African nations at €335.5m - Morocco lead the way at €358. It's therefore almost incomprehensible that the Super Eagles will miss out on the World Cup and their squad was significantly more valuable than South Africa, who topped their qualifying group,
