International boss accuses rivals of ‘practising voodoo’ as World Cup dream ends on penalties

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DR Congo players have been accused of practising voodoo by Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle after their World Cup qualifier showdown.After a 1-1 draw, DR Congo won 4-3 on penalties in their CAF [Confederation of African Football] play-off match on Sunday night.Chelle was visibly angered by the DR Congo team during the shootout@MickyJnr__ XHe then rushed towards them once the winning penalty was scored@MickyJnr__ XFootage posted on social media shows a furious Chelle storming to the opposition bench moments before the winning penalty.He was held back by a member of his coaching staff and just as the DR Congo celebrations began, he vented his fury once again.Chelle’s counterpart Sebastien Desabre was in his line of fire and next to try and calm him down as tensions boiled over.The Nigeria boss spoke to the press in the mixed zone afterwards and was asked about the touchline altercation.“During all the penalties, the guy of Congo did some voodoo,” he said.“Every time, so this is why I was a little nervous after him.”When asked what he saw, Chelle shook his arm and said: “Something like that… I don’t know if it’s water or something like that.”Nigeria have failed to qualify for back-to-back World Cups as a result of their penalty shootout heartbreak.They finished top of their qualifying group for the 2022 tournament but were beaten by Ghana in the third round.Now they must wait for the 2030 World Cup qualification process to begin in order to end their wait for a return to the finals.View Tweet: https://t.co/nMyTIcqlTTChelle then alleged that the DR Congo team were using voodooAFPHow DR Congo can qualify for the World CupThanks to their victory over Nigeria, DR Congo will now advance to the inter-confederation play-offs in March.They are so far joined by Bolivia and New Caledonia as three of the six nations who have qualified.One team from Asia and two from North America, Central America and the Caribbean will also qualify.The top two sides as per the FIFA men’s world rankings will be seeded and automatically play in the play-off finals.DR Congo are currently ranked 60th and would therefore be seeded along with Bolivia, who are 76th.The four unseeded sides will compete in semi-final matches in each pathway, with the winner then playing in the final.