Nigeria head coach Éric Chelle has accused the Congo DR side of “voodoo” during the penalty shootout that saw the end of his side’s chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Frank Onyeka put Nigeria ahead in their crucial qualifier before Meschack Elia’s equaliser took the game to a penalty shootout where DR Congo came out 4-3 winners and kept their own World Cup dreams alive.
After the result, Chelle made an unusual accusation when talking about the shootout that confirmed that Nigeria will miss a second World Cup in a row.
“During all the penalty decision the guy of Congo did some Voodoo. Every time … Every time. So this is why I was a little nervous after him,” Chelle told reporters.
When asked what he saw, Chelle waved his right arm but couldn’t confirm the specifics of his claim.
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“Something like that [waving his arm]. You know with I don’t know if it’s water or something like that you know,” he said.
The defeat, which came against a side ranked 19 places below them, condemned Nigeria to a third missed World Cup since 2006.
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