Nigeria saw their World Cup dream ended in heartbreaking fashion and boss Eric Chelle has claimed that there was an odd reason for their defeat vs DR Congo
Nigeria boss Eric Chelle has claimed that his side were the victims of ‘voodoo’ as they saw their World Cup dream ended by DR Congo. The African side had reached the final of the continental play-offs during the most recent international fortnight.
The winner would have progressed to the intercontinental play-offs to potentially secure a ticket to the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico next summer. It all got off to the perfect start for Nigeria as Brentford star Frank Onyeka opened the scoring in the third minute.
Mechak Elia equalised for DR Congo, with the game then heading into a penalty shootout. Former Arsenal and current Hull City defender Semi Ajayi was the man to miss, with DR Congo eventually sealing victory.
After the final whistle, Nigeria head coach Chelle angrily approached the DR Congo bench and had to be pulled away by members of the Nigeria coaching staff. He then sensationally claimed that the victors were practicing voodoo to secure victory. He said: “DR Congo guys were doing maraboutage [a Muslim holy man, marabout has connotations of a north African witch doctor].”
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Chelle, 48, then repeated the allegations. He added: “During all of the penalties, the guys of Congo were doing some voodoo. Every time, every time, every time. This is why a little nervous of him.
“Something like that…[shakes his fist in the air]. I don’t know if it’s water or something like that.”
Despite Chelle’s outlandish claims, Nigeria star William Troost-Ekong chose not to respond, instead focusing on his side’s heartbreak. He said: “We are devastated. I am proud of the boys, they gave everything, not just today, but over the past ten months.
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“There are plenty of positives to take away. The future of this team is promising… but today is a very difficult day.”
Nigeria have now failed to qualify for each of the last two tournaments, having also not taken to the pitch in Qatar three years ago. In the meantime, DR Congo will now head into the inter-confederation playoffs set to take place in March.
Bolivia and New Caledonia have already qualified, with the Asian representatives set to be either the United Arab Emirates or Iraq. CONCACAF will have two representatives for the playoffs as the host confederation.
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