Nigeria vs DR Congo: 3 things we learnt from Super Eagles’ bitter 2026 World Cup elimination

For Super Eagles fans the world over, there was a bad taste in the mouth as they rose today. Nigeria’s penalty shootout defeat at the hands of DR Congo put the final nail in the coffin of their World Cup aspirations, condemning the three-time African champions to a second successive absence.

Failure can be useful for didactic purposes, of course. So, if anyone has the stomach for it, here are three things we learnt from the heartbreaking ouster in Rabat on Sunday night.

The Super Eagles is a one-man (Osimhen) team

Pep Guardiola once humorously referred to Tottenham as “the Harry Kane team”, but as far as one-man teams go on the international stage, the sheer level of dependence the Super Eagles have on Victor Osimhen will take some beating. 

Through the qualifying series, Nigeria won none of the five matches the Galatasaray man missed, and four of the five in which he featured. And while there is something to be said for a team needing its best player, the fact that the entire attacking intent of the three-time African champions disappeared after Osimhen came off injured at half-time against DR Congo was alarming, not just for the reality of it, but also for how entirely predictable it was. 

Osimhen’s late miss vs Gabon proved costly

Having edged ahead in the playoff semi-finals, the Super Eagles looked to be cruising to the final before Mario Lemina’s deflected strike stung them in the 89th minute. In spite of this, however, Nigeria improbably had one last chance to win it in the 101st minute, and that opportunity fell to the one man they would have hoped for: Osimhen.

🇳🇬😭 Osimhen why?! Carried ball go bedroom, light candle, play slow music… then miss open net! 😩💔
Keeper dey cry, net dey beg, but King Vic say “Not today baby” 😂😭
This miss na crime! Who else don faint?! 🦅#SuperEagles #OsimhenMiss #VictorOsimhen #WorldCupQualifiers #gabon pic.twitter.com/sv93EqZf8M

— Goalhausng (@goalhausng1) November 13, 2025

Instead, the talisman improbably spooned his effort wide, a miss that led to a further 30 minutes of play. He would ultimately score a brace in the eventual 4-1 win, but had he netted in regular time, not only would his teammates have been fresher against DR Congo, but he himself might  have avoided the first-half injury that forced him off at half-time. Sliding doors.

Eric Chelle still has a lot to learn

On the one hand, Eric Chelle’s unbeaten record in charge of the Super Eagles remains intact. The Malian is yet to be bested through eight matches (penalty shootouts are officially logged as draws), and the argument can be made that, had he been available throughout the qualifying series, Nigeria might have made it through to the World Cup at the first time of asking.

However, there is a sense in which the Malian lacks composure, especially when it comes to his tactics. It is one thing to alter the set-up in order to counter the opponent, but Chelle is sometimes too quick to completely throw out the baby with the bathwater. Against DR Congo, he started with a never-before-seen 4-3-2-1, but went to a 4-4-2 the moment the Leopards equalised, and then to a 4-2-3-1 mere minutes later, introduced Tolu Arokodare in the second half to go to a 4-4-2, and then yanked the Wolves striker off and went to a 5-4-1 deep into extra time.