The coach of DR Congo Sebastian Desabre has named his list of players for the upcoming intercontinental world cup qualifiers playoff in Mexico, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
DR Congo qualified to represent Africa at the playoff where they will be two tickets to the world cup, by beating Nigeria in a penalty shoot out in the final of the African playoff in November 2025.
Nigeria filed a protest to world football governing body FIFA, claiming that a host of players in the DR Congo team are not eligible to play in the game, because they hold dual nationality.
In the petition which was leaked by veteran Nigerian journalist Osasu Obayiuwana on social media platform X, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) were particular on three players and suggested a possible document forgery.
“It should be added for context that at least three of these players with unrenounced Belgian nationality (Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Mario Stroeykens, and Matheu Epolo) received their final clearance to play for DRC between November 11 and 12, 2025, just before the play-off match against Nigeria on November 16, 2025,” the complaint read.
In yesterday’s squad that was made public, the duo of Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Mario Stroeykens, two of the players Nigeria specifically highlighted in its formal complaint to FIFA over alleged eligibility breaches were not included.
The reason behind their exclusion was not made public by the coach, leaving many to suggest that it has something to do with the petition on their eligibility by Nigeria.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
