Victor Ikpeba, a former member of the Super Eagles, offered his thoughts on why DR Congo upset Nigeria in Sunday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying playoff final. After both teams failed to score during the thirty minutes of extra time, Nigeria was able to force a penalty shootout. The Super Eagles merely turned half, according to Ikpeba, but they did not show up in half with Congo controlling the game. He speculated that this might be due to exhaustion after their 120-minute match against Gabon three days prior. The boys understood they would be in the game if they didn’t give up much in the opening forty-five minutes after playing for 120 minutes two days prior. Physically, I don’t think we showed up.We showed up for the first forty-five minutes, I believe. Compared to our boys, they were physically superior. Regarding our boys, I did have some reservations. After giving it their all against Gabon, are they prepared to enter the party in this match against the Congolese? They gave a lot against Gabon, and we shouldn’t forget that. I believe this is a setback for this generation of players, but it is what it is. Given our lads’ potential, there were a lot of expectations placed on them. “In the most recent Nations Cup, they demonstrated a great deal of enthusiasm and tenacity.They shouldn’t have it taken away from them. It was also a challenging side to defeat. And what are we able to say? The purpose is to return and be ready for the Nations Cup. I hope they can win the national cup and make Nigerians happy. However, when you consider our entire history and how we came to be here, we simply felt that our team was lacking in several areas. “It simply demonstrates once more how challenging it is to play African football. Names don’t always win football, as you are aware.
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