Super Eagles head coach, Eric Chelle, has accused the Democratic Republic of Congo of using ‘voodoo’ against Nigeria during both sides’ penalty shoot-out in Sunday’s World Cup qualifying playoff final in Morocco.
Chelle stated this to reporters while explaining his frustration at some of the DR Congo staff members during the penalty shoot-out.
In a video posted by ESPN Africa on X on Monday, which showed Chelle speaking to journalists after the match, Chelle said he reacted out of frustration after witnessing repeated gestures from a member of DR Congo’s technical area during the video assistant referee review for a penalty incident.
“During all the penalty sessions, the guy from Congo did some voodoo,” Chelle told reporters after the match in Rabat.
“Every time, so this is why I was a little nervous after him.”
When asked what he saw the Congo guy doing, Chelle added, “Yeah, something like, I don’t know if it’s water or something like that [he was spraying it up].”
Recall that the Super Eagles took an early lead in the first half after Frank Onyeka’s shot was deflected in.
But DR Congo equalized through Mechak Elia as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Nigeria’s campaign ended in a 4–3 defeat on penalties after the match finished 1–1 across 120 minutes at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
DR Congo defeated Chelle’s men on penalties as the likes of Calvin Bassey, Moses Simon and Semi Ajayi all missed their kicks.
The loss means the Super Eagles will miss the World Cup for the second consecutive year.
Nigeria had reached the final after a dramatic 4–1 extra-time win over Gabon in Thursday’s semi-final, while DR Congo defeated Cameroon 1–0 to book their place.
DR Congo clinched the ticket to represent Africa at the intercontinental playoffs taking place in March next year for a chance to secure one of the remaining tickets to the expanded 48-team World Cup scheduled to hold in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
ALSO READ: DR Congo end Nigeria’s 2026 World Cup hopes in penalty shootout
READ ALSO FROM SPORTING TRIBUNE
