FIFA WC (Q): Nigeria still waiting for DR Congo verdict – Dikko

Nigeria have not lost hope in their quest to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, according to National Sports Commission (NSC) chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko.

The Super Eagles lost 3-4 on penalties to DR Congo in Morocco, last November, ending its hopes of direct qualification for the FIFA World Cup to be co-hosted by the United States of America, Canada and Mexico.

However, the NFF filed a formal complaint on December 15, 2025, claiming six Congolese players, who had switched international allegiance were not eligible to feature in the decisive match.

“The Commission and the NFF are working hand in hand on that, everything the NFF is doing it’s in collaborating with the NSC, as our agency,’ the NSC boss told Brila FM as quoted by Complete Sports.

Nigeria have another lifeline and we can take it

“We have done what we have to do, it’s not that we are sore losers, it’s all about the rules. If the rules are breached then we have to present it to the relevant bodies that will examine it.

“At the end of the day we wait for the decision.

“We have already put the world cup behind us, but if at the end of the day our petition is found to be correct which I believe it should be, then we have another lifeline and we can take it on from there.”

South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Algeria, Senegal, Morocco, Tunisia, Cape Verde, and Ivory Coast are the African teams that have already qualified for the World Cup.

If the case by Nigeria is dismissed, DR Congo will head to the World Cup Play-Off Tournament in March in their bid to qualify for the World Cup for the second time after the country’s appearance in 1974 under the name of Zaire.