Voodoo blamed for World Cup exit? Coach makes serious claims | OneFootball

Nigerian football suffered a severe setback yesterday. In the final of the World Cup playoffs, the Super Eagles were dramatically defeated by the Democratic Republic of Congo. National coach Éric Chelle suspected supernatural reasons after the match.

According to him, the scandal occurred during the penalty shootout. DR Congo ultimately won 4-3, with three of Nigeria's six shooters missing. Were they cursed beforehand?

At least, that was Chelle's serious suspicion. During the shootouts, he observed a member of the Congolese team practicing "voodoo at every penalty."

"I was a bit nervous about him," admitted the 48-year-old. Voodoo is originally a West African religion but is still often associated with black magic today.

According to Chelle, to cast this fatal spell on his players, the troublemaker "sprinkled some kind of water" from the bench, bringing misfortune to Victor Osimhen's teammates. The star striker had already been substituted at halftime due to an injury and had to watch from the sidelines as his chance to participate in the 2026 World Cup vanished. Chelle's allegations cannot be proven, but he seemed very sure of his claim.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

📸 PHILL MAGAKOE - AFP or licensors