DR Congo List Players at the Centre of Nigeria’s Petition for Playoffs in Mexico

DR Congo List Players at the Centre of Nigeria’s Petition for Playoffs in Mexico

Matheu Epolo, one of the three players at the centre of Nigeria’s petition to FIFA to disqualify DR Congo for fielding them against the Super Eagles in the 2026 World Cup African final playoff last November has been listed for the mini Inter-confederation tournament in  Mexico.

The other two players in Nigeria’s petition: Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Mario Stroeykens were not named in the squad to the InterConfederation playoffs in Mexico but several others like Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Axel Tuanzebe, Arthur Masuaku, Lionel Mpasi, Samuel Moutoussamy, Noah Sadiki, Ngal’ayel Mukau, Nathanaël Mbuku, and Cédric Bakambu also named in the petition as not eligible  to play in the Morocco final game are in the DR Congo team released yesterday.

Even as FIFA is yet to take a decision on Nigeria’s petition barely days to the kickoff in Mexico, the Congolese have taken the silence of the world football body as victory and have gone ahead to include Epolo and the others in their final squad to the playoffs where the winners of the final two tickets to the Mundial will emerge.

DR Congo will face the winner of the play-off between Jamaica and New Caledonia in Guadalajara, Mexico, on March 31, 2026, in a match that could send the Central African nation back to the World Cup for the first time in 52 years.

But the squad announced by Coach Sébastien Desabre has drawn attention because many of the players whose eligibility Nigeria questioned after last November’s African play-off defeat have again been included.

After the Super Eagles lost out in the penalty shootouts after the final deadlocked 1-1, Nigeria protested to FIFA that the three players whose nationality switches were approved only days before the decisive match: Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Mario Stroeykens and Matheu Epolo, should have been excluded from the final.

Balikwisha and Stroeykens, both Belgian-born and former Belgium youth internationals, were granted FIFA approval to switch allegiance to DR Congo in the days leading up to the November 16 play-off against Nigeria.

Epolo, a Belgian-born goalkeeper who also represented Belgium at the youth level, had his nationality switch approved within the same period.

Nigeria argued that the Congolese federation had called up the players before FIFA had formally approved their change of association, raising questions about whether proper procedures had been followed.

Europa League 

Bologna 1-1 AS Roma

Lille 0-1 Aston Villa 

Pana’kos 1-0 Betis 

Stuttgart 1-2 FC Porto

Conference League

AZ Alkmaar 2-1 Sp’Prague

Lech Poznan 1-3 Shakhtar

Rijeka 1-2 Strasbourg 

Samsunspor 1-3 Vallecanno

Matheu Epolo, one of the three players at the centre of Nigeria’s petition to FIFA to disqualify DR Congo for fielding them against the Super Eagles in the 2026 World Cup African final playoff last November has been listed for the mini Inter-confederation tournament in  Mexico.

The other two players in Nigeria’s petition: Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Mario Stroeykens were not named in the squad to the InterConfederation playoffs in Mexico but several others like Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Axel Tuanzebe, Arthur Masuaku, Lionel Mpasi, Samuel Moutoussamy, Noah Sadiki, Ngal’ayel Mukau, Nathanaël Mbuku, and Cédric Bakambu also named in the petition as not eligible  to play in the Morocco final game are in the DR Congo team released yesterday.

Even as FIFA is yet to take a decision on Nigeria’s petition barely days to the kickoff in Mexico, the Congolese have taken the silence of the world football body as victory and have gone ahead to include Epolo and the others in their final squad to the playoffs where the winners of the final two tickets to the Mundial will emerge.

DR Congo will face the winner of the play-off between Jamaica and New Caledonia in Guadalajara, Mexico, on March 31, 2026, in a match that could send the Central African nation back to the World Cup for the first time in 52 years.

But the squad announced by Coach Sébastien Desabre has drawn attention because many of the players whose eligibility Nigeria questioned after last November’s African play-off defeat have again been included.

After the Super Eagles lost out in the penalty shootouts after the final deadlocked 1-1, Nigeria protested to FIFA that the three players whose nationality switches were approved only days before the decisive match: Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Mario Stroeykens and Matheu Epolo, should have been excluded from the final.

Balikwisha and Stroeykens, both Belgian-born and former Belgium youth internationals, were granted FIFA approval to switch allegiance to DR Congo in the days leading up to the November 16 play-off against Nigeria.

Epolo, a Belgian-born goalkeeper who also represented Belgium at the youth level, had his nationality switch approved within the same period.

Nigeria argued that the Congolese federation had called up the players before FIFA had formally approved their change of association, raising questions about whether proper procedures had been followed.

Europa League 

Bologna 1-1 AS Roma

Lille 0-1 Aston Villa 

Pana’kos 1-0 Betis 

Stuttgart 1-2 FC Porto

Conference League

AZ Alkmaar 2-1 Sp’Prague

Lech Poznan 1-3 Shakhtar

Rijeka 1-2 Strasbourg 

Samsunspor 1-3 Vallecanno