Super Eagles’ head coach, Eric Chelle, has accused players of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) of engaging in “voodoo” rituals during their dramatic penalty shootout victory over the Super Eagles in Sunday’s CAF World Cup play-off final.
Recall that the match ended 1-1 after extra time before DR Congo triumphed 4-3 on penalties, sealing their place in next March’s inter-confederation play-offs and ending Nigeria’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Nigeria took an early lead through Frank Onyeka’s deflected strike in the third minute, but Meschak Elia levelled for DR Congo to send the tense encounter into extra time and eventually penalties.
As DR Congo captain Chancel Mbemba converted the winning spot-kick, tempers flared.
Chelle stormed toward the Congolese technical area, confronting head coach Sébastien Desabre and his staff before being restrained by Nigeria’s backroom team members.
While Desabre later downplayed the confrontation, telling reporters it was “not an issue,” Chelle offered a fiery version of events during his post-match press conference.
Speaking in French, the 48-year-old coach accused the Congolese players of resorting to “maraboutage,” a term referring to the use of spiritual or supernatural rituals.
“DR Congo guys were doing maraboutage,” Chelle alleged.
He later repeated the claim in English while walking through the mixed zone, saying, “During all of the penalties, the players of Congo were doing some voodoo.”
A DR Congo representative, however, denied the allegations when contacted by The Athletic.
With the victory, DR Congo advanced to the six-team inter-confederation play-offs, to be held in North America in March 2026. The exact venues and dates are yet to be confirmed.
The Congolese side joined New Caledonia and Bolivia, while in Asia, either Iraq or the United Arab Emirates will secure a place following their two-legged play-off, currently tied 1-1. Costa Rica and Curaçao are presently occupying CONCACAF’s two playoff slots.
After all six teams are confirmed, they will be seeded based on FIFA rankings. The top two will advance directly to the final round of each pathway, while the remaining four will contest single-leg semi-finals. The two pathway winners will claim the 47th and 48th spots at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Chelle’s claims of spiritual interference have added a dramatic twist to what was already a tense encounter.
