ZURICH (AP) — FIFA has approved two soccer players to change international eligibility from Belgium to Congo ahead of the 2026 World Cup Africa qualifying play-offs starting Thursday.
Celtic forward Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Standard Liège goalkeeper Mathieu Eppolo are available to represent Congo in the play-off semi-final against Cameroon.
Both players have Congolese family ties and were born in Belgium. They had represented Belgium at youth and Under-21 level but were not the first national team and FIFA approved the change.
FIFA announced that Epolo’s transfer was approved on Wednesday and Balikwisha’s on Tuesday.
The winner of Congo vs. Cameroon will advance to Sunday’s play-off final where they will face the winner of Congo vs. Cameroon. Nigeria Thursday’s match against Gabon. All playoff games will be played in Rabat, Morocco.
Africa’s playoff winners will advance to a six-team intercontinental playoff in March, with two teams competing in the World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Congo qualified for the World Cup only once, when they played in West Germany in 1974 as Zaire.
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