{"id":24462,"date":"2025-11-17T10:04:51","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T09:04:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.funminews.com\/?p=24462"},"modified":"2025-11-17T10:04:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T09:04:54","slug":"nigerians-in-tears-dr-congo-break-nigerian-hearts-as-super-eagles-crash-out-on-penalties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/17\/nigerians-in-tears-dr-congo-break-nigerian-hearts-as-super-eagles-crash-out-on-penalties\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigerians In Tears: DR Congo Break Nigerian Hearts as Super Eagles Crash Out on Penalties"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nigeria\u2019s hopes of returning to the World Cup were brutally cut short on Sunday night as DR Congo defeated the Super Eagles 4\u20133 on penalties after a tense 1\u20131 draw in regulation and extra time. It was a bruising evening for a Nigerian side that started brightly but faded as the game wore on\u2014made worse by the early loss of their talisman, Victor Osimhen, to injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fast Start, Bitter Ending<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Super Eagles struck early, taking the lead inside the opening three minutes when Frank Onyeka\u2019s long-range effort took a wicked deflection and wrong-footed the Congolese goalkeeper. Nigeria looked in control in the opening stages, with the crowd roaring in anticipation of a long-awaited World Cup return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But DR Congo gradually grew into the match and found their equalizer just after the half-hour mark through Meschack Elia, who pounced on a defensive lapse and finished calmly past Stanley Nwabali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From that point, the momentum shifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Osimhen Forced Off \u2013 A Turning Point<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nigeria\u2019s night took a critical turn when Victor Osimhen failed to return for the second half, having picked up a knock following a heavy collision earlier in the opening period. Team officials confirmed he was removed as a precaution due to injury concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His substitution left Nigeria blunt in attack, with the Super Eagles struggling to stretch the Congolese defense or maintain pressure. The Napoli star\u2019s absence was felt immediately as the team\u2019s rhythm dropped and goal-scoring chances dried up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nail-Biting Extra Time and Penalties<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Neither team could break the deadlock through a tense second half and an even more nerve-shredding extra-time period. Both sides missed half-chances, both were visibly fatigued, and both looked like they were bracing for the lottery of penalties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the shootout, DR Congo were clinical. Nigeria were not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A missed Nigerian kick proved decisive, and the Congolese converted their final attempt to seal a famous victory\u2014sending their players into wild celebrations and leaving the Super Eagles stunned and deflated on the pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Nigeria, it marks a second consecutive World Cup qualification failure, an unthinkable outcome for a footballing powerhouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Voodoo Allegation Sparks Controversy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In a twist that overshadowed the post-match reactions, head coach \u00c9ric Chelle claimed that a member of DR Congo\u2019s technical staff engaged in voodoo-like rituals during the penalty shootout. Chelle said he witnessed gestures on the sidelines before each Congolese kick and confronted opposition staff after the match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The claims immediately went viral, with fans divided between frustration, disbelief, and calls for CAF to investigate. DR Congo officials dismissed the allegations as \u201cemotional reactions\u201d after a difficult loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nigeria Face Hard Questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another missed World Cup, an injured star striker, and now a post-match controversy \u2014 this defeat cuts deep for Nigerian football. Calls for structural changes, accountability, and a clearer football identity are already intensifying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, the story is simple: Nigeria is out. DR Congo is through. And the Super Eagles must once again rebuild from disappointment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nigeria\u2019s hopes of returning to the World Cup were brutally cut short on Sunday night as DR Congo defeated the Super Eagles 4\u20133 on penalties after a tense 1\u20131 draw in regulation and extra time. It was a bruising evening for a Nigerian side that started brightly but faded as the game wore on\u2014made worse […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24463,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5,3,7],"tags":[1409,1613,1615,619,1618,146,1614,1616,1617,1611,1571,1612],"class_list":["post-24462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-international","category-naija-news","category-sports","tag-fifa2026","tag-2026-world-cup","tag-coach-chelle","tag-kebbistadium-fifaforward-amajupinnick-stadiumscandal-footballfunding-nffcontroversy-publicoutrage-nigeriasports-transparencymatters-accountabilitynow","tag-mexico","tag-nigeria","tag-osimen","tag-penalty-kick","tag-qualifying-matches","tag-super-eagles","tag-victor-osimen","tag-world-cup"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-21-e1763369994644.png?fit=800%2C351&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24462"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24462\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24468,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24462\/revisions\/24468"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}