A member of the victorious Congo team’s staff used voodoo during a penalty shoot-out, Nigeria coach Éric Chelle has claimed after the African soccer power was eliminated from qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Congo won the African play-off final after substitute goalkeeper Timothy Fayulu, sent on late in extra time of a 1-1 draw, made two saves to send his team into the intercontinental play-offs in March.
Chelle was filmed during the shoot-out getting agitated with the Congo coaching staff and moving aggressively toward the rival technical area.
“The guy of Congo did some voodoo,” former Mali international Chelle told reporters. “Every time, every time, every time, so this is why I was a little nervous (of) him.”
Asked to explain what happened, Chelle did a gesture of shaking a water bottle.
Nigeria have now failed to qualify for back-to-back World Cups despite star strikers Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman being in their career prime years.
Congo last qualified in 1974, when the nation was called Zaire.
They will be joined in the intercontinental play-offs, from which two teams qualify, by Bolivia, New Caledonia, Iraq or the United Arab Emirates and two teams from the north American region CONCACAF, with the remaining teams decided on Tuesday.
