Nigeria’s Super Eagles have been dealt a major blow in their quest to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as FIFA has officially confirmed the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) as Africa’s representative in the upcoming inter-confederation play-off tournament.
The development came on Wednesday when FIFA released the final list of participating teams for the play-off event set to take place in Mexico.
This decision effectively ends Nigeria’s involvement, despite ongoing efforts by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to contest the outcome of their African play-off clash against DR Congo.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament will see six teams fight it out for the final two places at the FIFA World Cup 2026 to be staged in Canada, Mexico and the United States across 16 Host Cities,” FIFA stated in its announcement.
“All of the six teams have now been decided, with Bolivia, Congo DR, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname confirmed as qualifiers.”
The tournament is scheduled to begin on March 26, with the six nations competing in a knockout format for the last two berths at the expanded 48-team World Cup finals.
DR Congo secured their spot after defeating Nigeria in a dramatic penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw in the CAF play-off final held in November 2025.
Persecondnews recalls that the NFF had filed a formal protest with FIFA, arguing that DR Congo deployed ineligible players during that decisive encounter.
The appeal sought to reverse the result and award Nigeria the CAF slot in the inter-confederation event.
Despite the challenge, FIFA’s inclusion of DR Congo in the confirmed line-up signals that the governing body’s review did not uphold Nigeria’s claims, closing the door on any last-minute reversal for the Super Eagles.
This marks the second consecutive World Cup cycle in which Nigeria has fallen short at the play-off stage, having previously been eliminated by Ghana’s Black Stars ahead of the Qatar 2022 tournament.
For DR Congo, the opportunity represents a chance to return to the global stage for the first time since their sole appearance at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany.
On that occasion, the Leopards suffered heavy defeats in all group matches, losing 9-0 to Yugoslavia, 3-0 to Brazil, and 2-0 to Scotland.
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