Head coach of the Democratic Republic of Congo Sebastien Desabre said his team could have lost the match, after their penalty shootout win over Nigeria in the CAF playoff final on Sunday, SportPremi reports.
The Leopards defeated the Super Eagles 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw to advance to the intercontinental playoffs in Morocco next year for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Both nations had finished among the four best-ranked runners-up after the conclusion of the group stages alongside Gabon and Cameroon.
Nigeria eliminated Gabon 4-1 in their first round tie, while DR Congo produced a giant-killing performance to see off Cameroon by a 1-0 scoreline courtesy of a late Chancel Mbemba’s goal.
The Super Eagles took the lead in their tie on Sunday night through Frank Onyeka, who found the net in the third minute after his strike took a big deflection into the net.
The Leopards were back on level terms soon afterwards through Meschack Elia, who was on the receiving end of a cross from Cedric Bakambu.
With no further goals after the entire 90 minutes and an additional 30 minutes of extra-time, the clash went into penalty shootout.
Nigeria missed three of their six kicks, while DR Congo missed only two, with Cheancel Mbemba scoring the decisive kick to send his side through to the next round.
Desabre believes anybody could have won
It is a remarkable achievement for the Democratic Republic of Congo, with their last appearance at the World Cup in 1974 when the country was referred to as Zaire.
In an interview after Sunday’s win, head coach Sebastien Desabre was impressed with his team’s performance so far especially in Sunday’s important win over Nigeria.
“It was a close call. We played a better match for a while now. The playing conditions were favourable since we played on a beautiful pitch.
“But overall we deserved the victory and we have to congratulate the players and those who work around to organize the team”, Desabre said.
On Nigeria being a quality opponent
“We also have to congratulate Nigeria, it was a close call. We could have not qualified in the penalty shootout”, he continued.
“It was a bit difficult for us. Nigeria is ahead in the Fifa ranking and the coach is good.”
What next for DR Congo?
The Democratic Republic of Congo will now head to next year’s intercontinental playoffs in high hopes of reaching the main event.
The Leopards will compete with Bolivia, New Caledonia, one country from Asia and two other nations from North America for one of the two available spots for the World Cup.
The playoffs will take place in March 2026, with the World Cup set to commence in June.
