CAF W/Cup Playoffs final: Can Nigeria  breakdown DR Congo?

Nigeria will play the Democratic Republic of Congo in a World Cup qualifying play-off final on Sunday.

The Super Eagles, who had boycotted training in the lead-up to the game over pay disputes, needed extra time to defeat Gabon in their semi-final, emerging 4-1 winners in Rabat, Morocco.

Akor Adams struck in the 78th minute to open the scoring, but former Southampton midfielder Mario Lemina popped up with an 89th-minute equaliser to force extra time at the Moulay Hassan Stadium.

Chidera Ejuke struck seven minutes into the additional half-hour to eke Nigeria’s noses ahead, before star striker Victor Osimhen bagged a brace to cement their place in tomorrow’s final.

There was also late drama in the other last-four encounter, where Chancel Mbemba slotted home a stoppage-time winner for the DR Congo against Cameroon.

Sebastien Desabre’s side are bidding to play in just their second World Cup, having only featured once back in 1974.

Cameroon, the eight-time participants on football’s biggest stage, will not feature for a ninth time in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The two sides will face off, looking to earn a place in the inter-confederation play-offs next year in Mexico.The biggest news coming out of the semi-final is that Wilfred Ndidi, the Nigeria midfielder, is suspended for this game after accumulating too many yellow cards.

Osimhen is one yellow card away from a suspension that could rule him out of some inter-confederation play-off games should Nigeria progress.

Ndidi’s absence will come as a real blow, but Frank Onyeka is the most likely to replace him in the engine room. That said, the Brentford midfielder is also on a booking and could be suspended should he be cautioned against the DR Congo.

As yellow cards are not wiped until before the World Cup tournament, any player who receives two yellow cards in two different qualifying matches will be automatically suspended for the next match.

As for the Leopards, they suffered no injury or suspensions after their win over Cameroon.

Mbemba was the only one booked in a card-littered game, so he will need to be careful against Nigeria.

Nigeria have the star power, but the DR Congo have a solid defence.

They demonstrated that by shutting out Bryan Mbeumo and co. against Cameroon, but they will have a totally different challenge when Osimhen is in town, supported by Ademola Lookman and Adams.

The Leopards did well to cancel out Cameroon, but it might be a step too far against a stacked Nigerian side.

The winners of that match will advance through to the inter-confederation play-offs, from which two sides will qualify for the tournament next summer in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

In the African qualifiers, teams were split into nine groups of six, with group winners automatically qualifying for the World Cup.

Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia were the teams to secure direct qualification.

Nigeria, Gabon, DR Congo and Cameroon — the four best-performing group runners-up — moved into the second round, with one African spot for March’s play-offs.

Nigeria failed to win any of their first four qualification matches, but the appointment of Eric Chelle in January coincided with an upturn in form as Nigeria won four and drew two of their remaining qualifiers, as they ranked second behind South Africa.

In Group B, DR Congo enjoyed a successful campaign, picking up seven wins, though reigning African champions Senegal went undefeated to qualify as group winners. The nation’s only appearance at the World Cup came in 1974 — when they were known as Zaire — which saw them become the first sub-Saharan country to feature at the tournament.

How do the inter-confederation play-offs work?

The play-offs will be held in March in North America, though exact dates and venues have yet to be confirmed.

New Caledonia (who lost the final of the OFC’s automatic qualifying tournament to New Zealand) and Bolivia (who finished seventh in CONMEBOL’s round robin qualifying format) have already qualified for the play-offs. In Asia, the United Arab Emirates will take on Iraq over two legs to qualify for the play-offs — the first leg finished 1-1 in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, ahead of the return in Basra on November 18.

As the host confederation, CONCACAF will be represented twice in the play-offs by the two best runners-up from the third round of qualifying. Curacao and Costa Rica are the teams currently occupying those positions.

After the six participants are confirmed, they will be split into seeded and unseeded teams and into two separate pathways. The two highest FIFA-ranked sides will be seeded and move straight on to the final of each pathway.

The unseeded teams will consist of a pair of single-leg semi-finals, with the two winners advancing to the final. The two final winners will be the 47th and 48th nations at the 2026 men’s World Cup.

The post CAF W/Cup Playoffs final: Can Nigeria  breakdown DR Congo? appeared first on Vanguard News.