By Ibrahim Adebowale
Super Eagles head coach, Eric Chelle, has alleged that members of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s technical crew deployed “voodoo” tactics during the penalty shoot-out that sent Nigeria crashing out of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on Sunday in Morocco.
Nigeria had taken an early lead in the third minute through a deflected effort from Frank Onyeka, before Meschak Elia drew DR Congo level midway through the first half. With no further goals in regulation time or extra time, the playoff final ended 1–1 after 120 minutes, forcing a tense shoot-out that the Congolese eventually won.
Chelle, visibly furious after Chancel Mbemba netted the decisive kick, stormed toward the DR Congo bench and confronted several officials, including head coach Sébastien Desabre, before he was restrained by members of Nigeria’s backroom staff.
Speaking afterwards, Desabre dismissed the confrontation as “not an issue.”
But Chelle insisted he reacted to what he described as suspicious acts carried out repeatedly during the penalty session.
“During all the penalty sessions, the guy from Congo did some voodoo,” he told reporters. “Every time. This is why I was a little nervous after him.”
Pressed further, Chelle said he saw a member of the Congolese technical area spraying “something like water” before each Nigerian kick, which he interpreted as an attempt to unsettle his players.
The result means Nigeria will miss a second consecutive World Cup after also failing to reach Qatar 2022 — the first time the Super Eagles have suffered back-to-back World Cup qualification failures since their debut in 1994.
