African Football Discussion Thread Current Topic: 👉 AFCON 2025/2026

[Agbe]

Snip.

Am expecting the super eagles to perform so well in their next match against D.R Congo, because they already know thats their last chance of qualifying for the World Cup, so they not going to play with matches like this. Super eagles have talented players, it’s just surprising that they don’t perform well when they are playing for their country compare with when they are playing for their clubs.

If the super eagles are so serious, then they should be able to win D.R Congo, the super eagles have a better squad than them, so I still have confidence in super eagles to win the match, I just I won’t be disappointed at the end.

Super eagles had the chance to easily qualify for the World Cup, but they were performing poorly in the group stage, they were losing and playing draw in matches which they were suppose to easily win, and now they are struggling to qualify to the World Cup.

The super eagles know what is at stake so I believe that they will take this game with all levels of seriousness because, The super eagles can't afford to lose this game and miss out on the world cup again knowing that they were not even there in the last world cup. My happiness going into this game is that the super eagles looks sharp from their last game against Gabon if they can approach this game as that of Gabon I believe that Nigeria will come out victorious.

[Amphenomenon]

[The super eagles know what is at stake so I believe that they will take this game with all levels of seriousness because, The super eagles can't afford to lose this game and miss out on the world cup again knowing that they were not even there in the last world cup. My happiness going into this game is that the super eagles looks sharp from their last game against Gabon if they can approach this game as that of Gabon I believe that Nigeria will come out victorious.

Hopefully they know this time because if they knew we won't have been in this desperate state but what can we do than to hope we make it to the World Cup.

Conceding towards the end of a game is somehow common now and we need to work on this. It's not over till the final whistle let's make this our push on every games for qualifiers.

[Lida93]

Nigeria is the obvious favourite in this game but that changes nothing because Dr congo is not a team that should be underrated, since they were much better against the Cameroonians and they defeated them, so looking down on them will be very costly if they ever do that.

Secondly, if the Nigerian team have to come out victorious here, victor osimhen really needs to be instrumental in making that happen since we all can see how solid the DR congo defense can be, but If I were to be staking on this game, I will be going with the option of Nigeria to win or draw, because am sure that if the Nigerian team live up to expectations, they will either win or draw in the full 90 minutes of the game.

The favorite that stresses their viewers emotionally as the failed to win in the regular time, congratulations to Nigeria super for their wining but must they give chances for their opponents to equalize that goal, that equalizing deprived them that regular time wining, who's even talking about seeing any team as less, there is nothing like that in football and even if people do that, it should not be at this stage, every team important right, what if DR congo players score first in that match and defend to till the last minute, Nigeria super should be more careful this time, they should try to atleast defend any goal they see as an important one.

No matter what happens, Nigeria still remains the favourites going into this game, I believe the Congolese side would be very weary about the Super Eagles of Nigeria based on the team's status in the continent as well as the runner up of the last African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, hence the Congolese would have to play with much caution against Nigeria due to the number of goals the Gabonese conceded against the Super Eagles in their last encounter.

[Agbamoni]

Am expecting the super eagles to perform so well in their next match against D.R Congo, because they already know thats their last chance of qualifying for the World Cup, so they not going to play with matches like this. Super eagles have talented players, it’s just surprising that they don’t perform well when they are playing for their country compare with when they are playing for their clubs.

If the super eagles are so serious, then they should be able to win D.R. Congo, the super eagles have a better squad than them, so I still have confidence in Super Eagles to win the match. I just won’t be disappointed at the end.

Super Eagles had the chance to easily qualify for the World Cup, but they were performing poorly in the group stage, they were losing and playing draws in matches which they were supposed to easily win, and now they are struggling to qualify for the World Cup.

This is the round of playoffs. Anything is possible. DR Congo can go to any length to win the Super Eagle. Don't underrate them.
I don't expect the Super Eagle to play so well. In fact, I am expecting both teams to score in that game. In the end, the best and lucky side will win in that game.

I understand this is a very long journey into the World Cup qualifier; hopefully, something should come out of this. If they had played like this from the very beginning, this would not have been a problem at all.

[Mayor of ogba]

The Gabonese in terms of action on the field can't be compared to Cameroon and Dr Congo's, I have seen these respective teams play and among them all Dr Congo is who I fear and wasn't praying to meet against Nigeria but unfortunately, Cameron couldn't kick them out. It's definitely gonna be a tough game for Nigeria when they go against Dr Congo than what Gabon was like. The Congo players are fast, can attack and with a good defense. I think the Dr Congo game will be the hardest game for Nigeria in the playoffs.

From the way DR Congo played in the World Cup qualifiers and the play off, and considering the fact that Nigeria and DR Congo's last two
meetings ended in a draw, so I agree with you that DR Congo will be the hardest game for Nigeria since they started their journey to qualify for the World Cup.

The playoff is always a difficult round in football especially when it has to do with qualifying for the World Cup, it's survival of the fittest and a game of chance, the DR Congo side can't be underrated at this point because they have already done something extraordinary by eliminating Cameroon from the playoffs and against Nigeria they would be very fierce but am banking on the Nigerian players to use their wealth of experience to defeat the Congolese.

I don't think the Congolese can stop the Super Eagles not to qualify for next year world cup, Nigeria has gone too far to be stopped by the Congolese if this game is the only game that holds Nigeria to qualify for the world cup then we have qualify already because Nigeria will defeat the Congolese. Nigeria will not underrate them before they almost got kick off by underrating some countries they would have won with going for play off in their group stage games, I believe Victor Osimhem will qualify Nigeria to the world cup.

It is true that Nigeria has gone too far in search of a place in next year World Cup but they need to make use of their chances if they want to win against DR Congo and progress in their quest to qualify for the World Cup. If Nigeria defeats DR Congo, they will qualify for the intercontinental rounds, which is the final stage that will determine if Nigeria will qualify for the World Cup or not.

[Stepstowealth]

My happiness going into this game is that the super eagles looks sharp from their last game against Gabon

I noticed this as well from that game, and I think that can be attributed to more time that these players have spent with the coach so they understand the system better, and also the more time they have spent playing with themselves. I hope the level of seriousness they showed against Gabon does not drop or diminish. Another good thing to take away from the game is the fact that our striker Victor Osimhen did not have that One on One miss as his greatest highlight from the game. He was able to score two very sharp goals, goals that will increase his confidence in front of goal against DR Congo.

[nelson4lov]

~Snip

At the end, the most important thing was the winning, not about how spectacular they were because this play off qualifying series is our last hope of qualifications, so playing nicely is not the most important thing, what we really need is the result which was achieved. Now the next Target is defeating DR congo, if we can achieve victory in that game, we are certainly going to compete for the last qualifying rounds which is intercontinental this time around. I just hope that our super eagles team rose to the occasion and make us proud.

Yeah, I can confirm this to be true. I'm a strong advocate for the fact that getting 3 points (if it's a league) or progression wins are the top priority. Beautiful football play is usually second to it. But at the end of the day, people watch football because they want to be entertained. You don't only watch because you want to win  because if it were the case, everyone would just watch out for winners in their local teams. That said, I made my earlier remarks about being impressed with super eagles last match performance because it was well above average and it wasn't an eye sore as I literally enjoyed the game with those displays.

[Donneski]

My happiness going into this game is that the super eagles looks sharp from their last game against Gabon

I noticed this as well from that game, and I think that can be attributed to more time that these players have spent with the coach so they understand the system better, and also the more time they have spent playing with themselves. I hope the level of seriousness they showed against Gabon does not drop or diminish. Another good thing to take away from the game is the fact that our striker Victor Osimhen did not have that One on One miss as his greatest highlight from the game. He was able to score two very sharp goals, goals that will increase his confidence in front of goal against DR Congo.

I'm one of the people who heavily criticized NFF's decision to hire Eric Chelle as the Super Eagles manager not because I had full knowledge of his past records hiring top teams but because I felt another African coach will most likely not be better than the coaches we have here but he's gone on to prove me wrong with how he's blended this team. Yes, being together for long makes players to play more as a team but if Chelle's tactical style didn't allow the team to move more as a cooperative team than brilliant individual players, the Super Eagles would've struggled to be this good if you ask me. DR Congo isn't a team to underestimate especially after their surprising performance against Cameroon so I don't expect the Super Eagles to underestimate them and I believe if they don't do, they'll come out victorious and proceed to the next round of the FIFA World Cup qualifying series

[yudi09]

-snip-

Nigeria is the obvious favourite in this game but that changes nothing because Dr congo is not a team that should be underrated, since they were much better against the Cameroonians and they defeated them, so looking down on them will be very costly if they ever do that.

Secondly, if the Nigerian team have to come out victorious here, victor osimhen really needs to be instrumental in making that happen since we all can see how solid the DR congo defense can be, but If I were to be staking on this game, I will be going with the option of Nigeria to win or draw, because am sure that if the Nigerian team live up to expectations, they will either win or draw in the full 90 minutes of the game.

DR Congo should not be underestimated given their strength. When they defeated Cameroon a few days ago, it was clear that they were not the favorites, given the history of their encounters, with Cameroon always winning over DR Congo and only once achieving a draw.
Nigeria, which we know has a reliable squad capable of defeating DR Congo, has certainly anticipated the possibility of surprises.

I will not change my betting choice for the final match between Nigeria and DR Congo. My choice for Nigeria to win is final.

[Lida93]

Based on the last outing of the Super Eagles and the quality of display they put out against the Gabonese team, it is quite understandable that everyone would expect the Nigerian team to replicate same feat against Congo because the team is in high spirit and all the player understand what's at stake at the moment and are deeply committed to achieving this goal for the country .

Yeah, I was afraid of the game Vs Gabon and had earlier thought the Gabonese will give them tough time and possibly eliminate them. Gabon has had an incredible qualifier where they scored and won lots of matches and in the process gathered more than 20 points but were only edged out by the current ACON champions in their group. But in the match Vs Nigeria, I saw what the Super Eagles did and they surprised me by playing excellently well. Now they have eliminated the Gabonese and DEC succeeded in eliminating Cameroon which puts them in a place to play Nigeria. Right now Nigeria is favourite to emerge the team that will represent Africa in the confederations play offs coming up next year.

In the group stage for the qualifiers Nigeria didn't look serious with how they played in all the games particularly in the starting of the group stage competition only to have managed to find a place to scale through with the results of their last two games in the group. Having seen what's at stake I think they're now more serious than before which is why they've being getting this interesting results that they didn't had initially. It's with much hope that they would win Dr Congo and make it through in the Intercontinental stage after the playoff.

[Faazs]

Nigeria are going to beat DR congo today, I expect the game be over by normal time, no 30minutes extra time for these game,,,we going to make it to the  international playoffs  the team is ready and agile to make us proud, we pray dey deliver, i believe they can this time around. The match is going to fun to watch.

[Fiatless]

Nigeria are going to beat DR congo today, I expect the game be over by normal time, no 30minutes extra time for these game,,,we going to make it to the  international playoffs  the team is ready and agile to make us proud, we pray dey deliver, i believe they can this time around. The match is going to fun to watch.

I wish your words would come to pass. The match has not started, but I am already under tension because a single mistake will be costly. The Super Eagles have improved in all areas, but we will be playing against a team that is physical and can effectively use counterattacks. My guess is that the Congolese side will remain in their half and absorb the attacking pressure of the Nigerian side. But they will be targeting loose balls or open spaces to penetrate the Nigerian defence through fast attack.

Nigeria might be able to win this game if they get early goals, which will force their opponents to come forward and play the game.

[BitBakerr1]

This match will be a very tough match one of the reasons why I'm saying this match will be a very tough match is because I had that Congo president or government said they will give each player $1 million if they should win Nigeria in this match today I really don't know how true that is but I have been seeing it online especially on Facebook, for me I believe Nigeria will win the match because Nigeria is more inform and they have more good players than Congo, I know they will Mark Victor osimhen very well today so he won't be able to score because victor osimhen will be a big problem to them if they don't mark him very well but the thing is we still have players that score very well so if they concentrate in marking just victor osimhen other players will be scoring.

[Lida93]

Snip.

Getting to this point proves that Nigeria is a tough team to play against but I don't expect them to underrate any team they'll meet next cause they should understand that each fixtures get more tougher as you try to advance into the world cup tournament.

A tough team? True. But if they had shown this toughness and explored the group stage moment with all the tough quality they have then it would have saved them this troubles of playing in the playoffs and looking forward to advance to the Intercontinental level to compete for the final decider to qualify for the World Cup when they could have being resting by now if they had conquered the group stage as they're doing now.

[sotelorene]

Nigeria are going to beat DR congo today, I expect the game be over by normal time, no 30minutes extra time for these game,,,we going to make it to the  international playoffs  the team is ready and agile to make us proud, we pray dey deliver, i believe they can this time around. The match is going to fun to watch.

In as much as i would love to support my country Naija, I will encourage them to play a good football else they won't go anywhere i mean they have messed up big time and it is sad that they always wake up at the dieing minute which doesn't make any sense, there last match, they were supposed to win before the extra time but they waited till the extra time that was when their eyes were opened and I hope that don't they don't try that today because Congo is not the club they defeated last week.

[Fiatless]

This match will be a very tough match one of the reasons why I'm saying this match will be a very tough match is because I had that Congo president or government said they will give each player $1 million if they should win Nigeria in this match today I really don't know how true that is but I have been seeing it online especially on Facebook, for me I believe Nigeria will win the match because Nigeria is more inform and they have more good players than Congo, I know they will Mark Victor osimhen very well today so he won't be able to score because victor osimhen will be a big problem to them if they don't mark him very well but the thing is we still have players that score very well so if they concentrate in marking just victor osimhen other players will be scoring.

The report of this mouthwatering reward was even reported by a reputable Nigerian Newspaper, The Punch.
https://punchng.com/dr-congo-offers-1m-per-player-for-wcup-play-off-ticket/

But this news was debunked by the Football Federation of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FECOFA). The Congolese football governing body said that the players are motivated by national pride and not financial gains.
https://bsnsports.com.ng/post/DR-Congo-Debunks--1-Million-Bonus-Claims-Ahead-of-Nigeria-Clash#google_vignette

I know that the country is rich in precious stones, but $1m for each player sounds outrageous. The Super Eagles might earn slightly above $15k for this finals as match bonus.

[SatoPrincess]

Big game today for the whole of Africa. I’m proud of the Super Eagles for making it this far, whatever happens today I just want them for give their best and even if they lose I’d be okay knowing that they did everything they could to win. Dr Congo are a strong team, if they were not tough they wouldn’t have made it this far, we cannot underestimate them. However Nigeria has a richer football heritage that is built on a long history of success. This put us at an advantage as football DNA plays a huge factor in high stakes match.

[yenerbatmaz]

Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo will face off in the final. The match will be broadcast live in my country, and I'll be watching. I also support Nigeria. Players like Uche, Okocha, and Moses played for my team, Fenerbahçe, in the past. For this reason, Nigeria holds a very special place in Fenerbahçe fans' hearts.

Uche and Okocha, in particular, hold a special place in our hearts.
I hope Nigeria prevails and qualifies for the 2026 World Cup by winning the intercontinental play-offs.

[Salahmu]

This match will be a very tough match one of the reasons why I'm saying this match will be a very tough match is because I had that Congo president or government said they will give each player $1 million if they should win Nigeria in this match today I really don't know how true that is but I have been seeing it online especially on Facebook, for me I believe Nigeria will win the match because Nigeria is more inform and they have more good players than Congo, I know they will Mark Victor osimhen very well today so he won't be able to score because victor osimhen will be a big problem to them if they don't mark him very well but the thing is we still have players that score very well so if they concentrate in marking just victor osimhen other players will be scoring.

has any African countries done this before? $1 million is too big to be considered as a true because in Africa almost all the currencies are weak to dollar value so this amount is quite doubtful because if this amount will be giving individually that means if they have 23 players is going to be $23 million that's too much considering what we are seeing from our own government support in sports, but if this is true I believe the reason that could have made there government offers this much is because of there non experience on the world Cup because they have not qualified before so maybe when they state this award the players will play as if is going to be there last attempt to qualify in world Cup.

[Fiatless]

The National Sports Commission, NSC, and some anonymous corporate bodies have promised to gift the Super Eagles $50,000 for every goal scored in the final games against Congo DR. The Nigerian team got about $120,000 for the four goals that were scored in the semi-finals, that's $30k per goal. Just hoping that this will serve as a motivation for the players to play selflessly and put in more effort.

https://dailypost.ng/2025/11/16/2026-wcq-playoffs-super-eagles-to-get-50000-per-goal-against-congo/