The penalty shootout win of 4-3 by the Democratic Republic of Congo against Nigeria was more than just an exciting football incident. It served as a painful reminder of the Super Eagles’ weakness. The match ended in a 1-1 draw with both goal being scored in the first half.
Nigeria’s game changed due to the exit of their ‘scoring machine’, Victor Osimhen. He got an injury in the first forcing not to play in the second half. This brought down the team’s entire attacking tactics. Nigeria began the match well, taking an early lead thanks to Frank Onyeka.
When Osimhen left the pitch, the team appeared, as one commentator remarked, “lacking in ideas.” The Super Eagles had the upper hand in possession after the break, but fell short in crucial precision and individual flair needed to penetrate a strong DR Congo defense.
However, DR Congo never gave up. With the strong leadership from their captain Chancel Mbemba, they endured the pressure and relied on strong defensive foundations. Democratic Republic of Congo got an equalizer in the thirty second minute through Meschack Elia, and maintained a compact and disciplined formation, forcing Nigeria to play in predictable wide areas. DR Congo went ahead and scored two goals during the extra time, but unfortunately the goals were ruled out due to fouls committed before scoring.
DR Congo’s coach, Sébastien Desabre made a clever subtitute toward the end of the exra time. He brought in a fresh goalkeeper, Timothy Fayulu, specifically for the penalty shootout. Fayulu made two crucial penalty saves that gave the advantage to DR Congo. Experienced Nigerian players such as Calvin Bassey and Moses Simon, struggled with nerves early on, but Congo remained composed under intense pressure.
