{"id":351534,"date":"2025-12-17T17:32:23","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T17:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/351534\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T17:32:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T17:32:23","slug":"why-dr-congo-might-lose-their-2026-world-cup-playoff-spot-to-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/351534\/","title":{"rendered":"Why DR Congo might lose their 2026 World Cup Playoff spot to Nigeria"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"article-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanaweb.com\/GhanaHomePage\/SportsArchive\/EXPLAINER-Why-DR-Congo-might-lose-their-2026-World-Cup-Playoff-spot-to-Nigeria-2014071?gallery=1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/51461006.295.jpg\" alt=\"Nigeria narrowly missed out on qualification after a  penalty shootout loss to DR Congo\" title=\"Nigeria narrowly missed out on qualification after a  penalty shootout loss to DR Congo\" width=\"295\" height=\"173\" \/> <\/a>Nigeria narrowly missed out on qualification after a  penalty shootout loss to DR Congo<\/p>\n<p id=\"article-123\">Nigeria\u2019s hopes of making the 2026 FIFA World Cup could be reignited amid reports that DR Congo might face disqualification from the playoff stage of the African qualifiers.<\/p>\n<p>But why exactly is DR Congo\u2019s spot under threat? Here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/p>\n<p>1. Alleged use of ineligible players<\/p>\n<p>The main issue revolves around up to six DR Congo players who recently switched national allegiance. Reports suggest they may not have completed FIFA\u2019s full eligibility process. Specifically, these players are accused of failing to formally renounce previous citizenships\u2014a requirement under Congolese law, which does not recognise dual nationality.<\/p>\n<p>2. Passport and age concerns<\/p>\n<p>Some players who appeared in the playoff competition reportedly hold European passports and are over 21. Depending on FIFA\u2019s rules, this could constitute a breach of eligibility, especially if proper procedures were not followed before the match.<\/p>\n<p>3. Nigeria\u2019s official protest<\/p>\n<p>The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has formally challenged DR Congo\u2019s eligibility with FIFA. NFF Secretary General Dr. Mohammed Sanusi stated that FIFA\u2019s initial clearance of the players may have been based on incomplete or misleading information provided by DR Congo.<\/p>\n<p>According to Sanusi: \u201cFIFA rules say once you have passports of your country, you\u2019re eligible\u2026 But we are saying that FIFA was deceived into clearing them. It is not FIFA\u2019s responsibility to enforce Congolese rules; they went by what was submitted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>4. What This Means for Nigeria<\/p>\n<p>If FIFA rules in Nigeria\u2019s favour, the Super Eagles could be reinstated into the Intercontinental Playoffs, which are scheduled for March 2026 in Mexico\u2014assuming the matches have not yet been played.<\/p>\n<p>Bottom Line<\/p>\n<p>Nigeria narrowly missed out on qualification after a dramatic penalty shootout loss to DR Congo in November.<\/p>\n<p>Now, eligibility questions surrounding the Congolese squad could give the Super Eagles a rare second chance to reclaim Africa\u2019s playoff spot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nigeria narrowly missed out on qualification after a penalty shootout loss to DR Congo Nigeria\u2019s hopes of making&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":351535,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":["post-351534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=351534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/351535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=351534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=351534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=351534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}