Nigeria's coach, Eric Chelle, claimed he was the victim of voodoo after Nigeria's elimination from the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers against Congo.

“Throughout the penalty shootout, a person from Congo made "Voodoo. He had water or something like that and he was throwing it, so I got really nervous," he said. Chelle, who had to be stopped to avoid getting into a fight with these people at the end of the penalty shootout, explained to reporters after the match the reason for his distress and that they had been victims of their rivals' voodoo. DR Congo qualifies for the 2026 World Cup playoffs. The Democratic Republic of Congo qualified for the 2026 World Cup playoffs after defeating Nigeria, who, after a 1-1 draw in regulation time, were thwarted by goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi-Nzau, who saved two of the three penalties in the shootout that decided the match (3-4). The Le Havre goalkeeper emerged as the hero of a tough, do-or-die match that eliminated them. to one of Africa's classic teams, which will miss its second consecutive World Cup after not participating in Qatar 2022.

Furthermore, Mpasi-Nzau allowed the Democratic Republic of Congo to dream of a participation they haven't enjoyed since the 1974 World Cup in Germany, when they played in the tournament as the country was called Zaire.

The match was decided in a penalty shootout, where Nigeria couldn't overcome three missed penalties by Calvin Bassey, Moses Simon, and Semi Ajayi.

The first sent the ball high over the bar, and the other two were saved by Mpasi-Nzau, the hero for Congo in the dream of a country aspiring to return to a World Cup 52 years later.