Prolific Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen is expected to play a decisive role when the Super Eagles take on the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday in a crucial battle for 2026 World Cup qualifying survival in Rabat.
The winner of the African play-offs final will advance to a six-nation intercontinental tournament in Mexico next March, featuring representatives from every football region except Europe. The loser, however, will exit the race for a place at the expanded 48-team World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Nigeria and DR Congo reached this stage after finishing as the best runners-up across the nine African qualifying groups, earning a second chance to stay in contention.
In Thursday’s semi-finals, Galatasaray forward Osimhen struck twice in extra time to inspire Nigeria’s 4–1 victory over Gabon. DR Congo also secured a narrow win, with Chancel Mbemba scoring late to seal a 1–0 triumph over Cameroon.
Osimhen, crowned the 2023 African Player of the Year, has been in exceptional form, having scored a hat-trick last month in a 4–0 win over Benin that kept Nigeria alive in the qualifiers. Still wearing a protective mask after a severe facial injury four years ago, the 26-year-old was a constant menace to Gabon and could easily have scored several more goals.
He admitted frustration after missing a last-gasp chance in stoppage time.
“I was gutted after failing to score from that opportunity. It was a bad miss,” he said. “Sometimes I score amazing goals no one expects, and at other times I miss when people expect me to score. I apologised to my teammates and promised to score in extra time, which I did twice.”
Nigeria has reached six of the last eight World Cups since making its debut in 1994 and is determined not to miss back-to-back tournaments after falling to Ghana in the 2022 play-offs.
Although Nigeria sits 19 places above DR Congo in the FIFA rankings and enters the match as favourites, head coach Eric Chelle has warned against complacency.
“The victory over Gabon means nothing. We now face formidable opponents in DR Congo,” he said. “We are building an identity and improving mentally and technically with each window. The key to beating Gabon was passion—working together. We must rediscover that passion.”
DR Congo, whose only World Cup appearance came in 1974 as Zaire, have shown significant improvement under French coach Sébastien Desabre. Led by Lille centre-back Mbemba, the Leopards have become more disciplined and resilient.
“We have experienced players, and what we are building didn’t happen overnight. We’ll give everything against Nigeria,” Desabre said.
Although both nations have long histories in World Cup qualifying—Nigeria with 16 campaigns and DR Congo with 12—Sunday’s clash at the 22,000-seat Prince Héritier Moulay El Hassan Stadium will be their first-ever meeting in the qualifiers.
Bolivia and New Caledonia have already booked their spots in the intercontinental tournament. Iraq or the UAE will represent Asia, while Jamaica and Panama are leading contenders for the two CONCACAF positions.
