TThe Democratic Republic of Congo is on the verge of its second World Cup in 52 years. The only time Zaire participated was in Germany in 1974.
The qualifying phase, led by Sébastien Desables’ men, was worthwhile. In Group B, they finished in second place behind Senegal (24th place) with 22 out of 30 points. As a result, they qualified for the African playoffs as one of the top four teams.
In the playoffs, they caused a stir by defeating Cameroon (0-1) in the semi-finals with Prime Minister Mbemba’s goal in the 91st minute, and in the final they surprised Nigeria again with a “devilish” penalty shootout.
Leopards made a goalkeeper change just before the penalty shootout, with Lionel Mpathi replacing Timothy Fayulu. Despite Muthusamy and Tuanze missing two of their first three kicks, Mbemba’s own goal from 11 meters ultimately qualified them for the intercontinental play-offs in March (3-4).
However, during the shootout, another incident occurred that should not be overlooked. Just before the final kick, Eric Schell began making gestures and accusations towards the DRC bench. Once Mbemba scored, the Nigeria manager had to be restrained to prevent a fistfight.
“During the penalty shootout, the boy from Congo was doing voodoo-like things.
Throughout the penalty shootout, the Congolese boy performed voodoo acts.
I don’t know if it’s water or what.”Nigerian coach Democratic Republic of the Congo
The staff probably
tremble repeatedly
during a gunfight
“Green Eagles” by Bassey, Simmons, and Ajayi.
