Nigeria hopes to revive its chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup after suffering a heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the African final of the playoffs. 

The Nigeria Football Federation has filed a complaint with Fifa, accusing the Democratic Republic of Congo of fielding ineligible players during the African playoff tie, which keeps the Leopards hopes of qualifying for the next World Cup alive. 

The NFF is challenging the eligibility of several Democratic Republic of Congo internationals including Manchester United alums Axel Tuanzebe and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, citing the national legislation of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In its argument, the Nigerian Federation maintains that Fifa was misled in validating the eligibility of these players as the law of the Democratic Republic of Congo prohibits the simultaneous possession of Congolese and European citizenship.

Nigeria is pushing to take the Democratic Republic of Congo's place as Africa's representative in the inter-confederation playoffs in Mexico in March 2026.

However, a CAF source has suggested that Fifa regulations focus primarily on documentation rather than domestic nationality laws.

"Nigeria has filed an official complaint against Congo because of the presence of players like Wan-Bissaka and Tuanzebe who obtained Congolese nationality, even though Congolese law prohibits combining its nationality with a European nationality at the same time," a CAF source told Filgoal. 

"FIFA requires that a passport be issued for the nationality in order to change nationality, so as long as the players have obtained passports, there is no problem".

The source further indicated that even if administrative violations were established, the outcome of the World Cup qualifiers is unlikely to be altered.

"If violations are proven, they will not affect the results of the World Cup qualifiers. This situation differs from the Equatorial Guinea case involving Emilio Nsue, where sanctions were imposed because the violation occurred before the qualifiers began. 

"In the current case, changing results would require restarting the qualification process, which is not under consideration.

"The most probable outcome would be a financial penalty or a formal warning for future compliance."

Subject to Fifa's final ruling, DR Congo are scheduled to face the winner of the playoff between New Caledonia and Jamaica, with a World Cup berth at stake.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel