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By Seyi Babalola
FIFA announced the final line-up for the inter-confederation play-off event on Wednesday with DR Congo representing Africa.
The football governing body’s decision has crushed Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
FIFA described the tournament rules and listed the six participant nations in an accreditation notification sent to journalists before to the competition.
DR Congo’s inclusion leaves no room for Nigeria, whose football federation had challenged the result of their defeat in the CAF play-offs in November 2025.
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The Nigeria Football Federation lodged a formal protest, alleging that DR Congo fielded ineligible players during the decisive tie, which ended 1-1 and went to penalties, where Nigeria lost.
The appeal sought to overturn the result and secure the Super Eagles’ place in the inter-continental play-offs.
Confirming the development in a statement, FIFA said, “The FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament will see six teams fight it out for the final two places at the FIFA World Cup 2026™, to be staged in Canada, Mexico and the United States across 16 Host Cities.”
“All of the six teams have now been decided, with Bolivia, Congo DR, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname confirmed as qualifiers.”
The play-off tournament gets underway on March 26.
