Libya Goalkeeper’s Blunder Ends World Cup Dream a Year After Nation Held Nigeria’s Team at Airport
- Libya's 2026 FIFA World Cup dreams are over after a costly blunder from their goalkeeper against Cape Verde
- Libya and Cape Verde played a 3-3 draw, which delayed the central Africans’ qualification for the 2026 World Cup
- The sad news came a year after Libyan authorities held the Super Eagles of Nigeria hostage at Al Abraq airport
Libya missed the chance to qualify for their first-ever FIFA World Cup after a goalkeeper blunder kickstarted Cape Verde’s comeback during a 3-3 draw.
The Libyans have failed to qualify for two major tournaments within a year, having previously missed out on the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Source: Twitter
The North Africans attracted international attention during the AFCON 2025 qualifier after an incident with the Super Eagles at Al Abraq International Airport.
Libyan authorities rerouted Nigeria's plane a few minutes from landing at Benghazi Airport to a remote airport in Al Abraq, where they were held hostage.
The Nigerian contingent was denied access to food and water for about 16 hours, supposedly in retaliation for a false claim that Nigerian Aviation Authorities pulled a similar stunt on them when they came to Nigeria.
CAF sanctioned the Mediterranean Knights with a forfeiture, awarding three points and three goals to the Super Eagles, and fined the Libyan Football Federation $60,000.
A month later, Libyan police attacked Gernot Rohr and his Benin Republic players at Tripoli International Stadium after their 0-0 draw, an incident which attracted further sanctions from CAF.
Goalkeeper blunder ends Libya's World Cup dream
As noted by FIFA, Libya was still in contention to qualify for the 2026 World Cup ahead of their match day nine encounter against Cape Verde.
The Aliou Cisse-led side proved that they could truly fight for a place by racing to a 3-1 lead against the group leaders, but it all ended in the blink of an eye.
As seen in a video shared on X by Velile Mnyandu, goalkeeper Mourad Al Wuhayshi fumbled Sidny Lopes Cabral’s long-range strike, allowing the ball to roll into the net.
As noted by CAF Online, the goal sparked Cape Verde's comeback, with Willy Semedo netting the third to leave his country fighting to secure the top spot on the final day.
Fans refused to believe that it was an honest mistake from Al Wuhayshi and asked that the entire Libyan team he investigated for alleged match fixing.
Source: Twitter
@thando_ wrote:
“That’s not the reaction of a keeper who made an honest mistake 🙂↔️🙂↔️”
@kitaodakit wrote:
“That goalkeeper should be arrested for treason in Libya and banned from playing football ever again.”
@4Milpunt wrote:
“😂😂😂😂😂😂These players are in the pockets of bookies.”
@joe_man_joe wrote:
“The goalkeeper's reaction immediately after he committed the howler says everything. He knew what he was doing.”
African countries on verge of World Cup qualification
Legit.ng analysed the African countries on the verge of World Cup qualification ahead of the final two matchdays of the CAF qualifying series.
Tunisia and Morocco have qualified for the tournament, with seven other countries waiting to book their slots during the October international break.
Source: Legit.ng
