DR Congo captain Chancel Mbemba defied a bottle thrown towards him and torrential rain to transform the successful penalty.
Democratic Republic of Congo ended Nigeria’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup with a penalty shootout victory within the African play-offs last on Sunday.
DR Congo and Nigeria drew 1-1 after additional time within the tie in Rabat and the central Africans received 4-3 on penalties to ebook a spot in inter-confederation play-offs in Mexico subsequent March.
Mbemba wins it for DR Congo
In a nerve-riddled shootout wherein 4 spot-kicks had been saved and one other missed, DR Congo captain Chancel Mbemba defied a bottle thrown towards him and torrential rain to transform the successful penalty as his nation search a return to the worldwide showpiece after a prolonged absence.
Two of the saves had been made by substitute goalkeeper Timothy Fayulu, who changed Lionel M’Pasi within the last minute of additional time.
DR Congo was referred to as Zaire when the nation certified for the one time in 1974. It was not a cheerful debut as they failed to attain, and conceded 14 objectives, together with 9 towards Yugoslavia.
Nigeria lie 19 locations above DR Congo on the planet rankings and had been pre-match favourites, however DR Congo recovered from conceding early to look the likelier winners the longer the match proceeded.
Nigeria, who wanted 78 minutes to interrupt the scoring impasse in a 4-1 semi-finals victory over Gabon three days in the past, had been forward inside three minutes towards the Congolese.
A cross was solely partially cleared and a tough, low shot from exterior the world by Brentford midfielder Frank Onyeka was deflected by Burnley defender Axel Tuanzebe previous M’Pasi.
DR Congo slowly recovered from the shock of falling behind so early towards the Tremendous Eagles and levelled after 32 minutes.
Veteran ahead Cedric Bakambu crossed and when Nigeria captain Wilfred Ndidi failed to manage the ball within the six-yard field, Mechak Elia pounced to beat goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali.
Osimhen injured
Star Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen, scorer of 5 objectives in his final two worldwide appearances, suffered an harm late within the opening half and was changed by Akor Adams for the second interval.
Because the second half of standard time progressed the groups turned more and more cautious, particularly Nigeria, who nearly gifted the result in DR Congo on 83 minutes.
A defensive mix-up involving Nwabali ended with DR Congo substitute Mahmoud Mayele simply failing to grab the lead.
DR Congo thought they’d taken the lead 19 minutes into additional time, however the Moroccan referee disallowed the aim, ruling scorer Noah Sadiki had dedicated a foul.
Victory qualifies the Congolese for a six-nation inter-confederation mini-tournament in Guadalajara and Monterrey from March 23.
The African representatives are the third nation to safe a spot after Bolivia and New Caledonia, and the opposite three slots might be stuffed on Tuesday for a contest that excludes Europe.
Iraq host the United Arab Emirates in Basra after the primary leg of the Asian decider completed 1-1 final Thursday in Abu Dhabi.
Jamaica and Panama are the frontrunners to be the 2 Central America/Caribbean flagbearers, however Suriname, Curacao, Honduras, Haiti and Costa Rica are different potential qualifiers.
The 2 highest ranked groups will obtain byes into single-match finals whereas the opposite 4 meet in single-match semi-finals. The winners of the 2 finals go to the World Cup.
Hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, the worldwide showpiece throughout June and July 2026 will function a file 48 nations, up from 32 on the final version in Qatar three years in the past.
The 9 computerized African members are Algeria, shock packets Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia.
