Senegal's Pape Thiaw Sends Message to DR Congo Ahead of World Cup Playoff As NFF Awaits CAS Ruling
- Senegal national team head coach Pape Thiaw has sent a message to DR Congo ahead of the World Cup playoff
- DR Congo could be Africa's 10th representative at the 2026 FIFA World Cup if they beat Jamaica in the playoff
- The Nigeria Football Federation has an active appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sports to kick DR Congo out
Senegal national team head coach Pape Thiaw has sent a message of support to the Democratic Republic of Congo ahead of their 2026 FIFA World Cup playoff.
DR Congo finished behind Senegal in the qualifying group stage to clinch the playoff spot and defeated West African giants Cameroon and Nigeria to pick up the intercontinental playoff spot.
Source: Getty Images
Jamaica defeated New Caledonia on March 27 to set up a final match against DR Congo for a World Cup spot, while Bolivia will face Iraq in the second match.
Africa has nine automatic slots in the expanded 48-nation tournament and could be 10 if the Leopards overcome the Reggae Boyz on March 31, 2026.
Pape Thiaw sends message to DR Congo
Senegal boss Pape Thiaw has shown support to DR Congo as they prepare to face a decisive match against Jamaica for the 2026 World Cup slot.
As noted by Foot Africa, Thiaw posted a picture of DR Congo superfan Michel Kuka Mboladinga on his Instagram story with a message for the Leopards ahead of their match.
“Good luck to the DR Congo Leopards for the 2026 World Cup playoffs! The entire African continent is behind you. Give it your all on the pitch, make your nation proud, and write history! Go DR Congo,” he wrote.
Nigerians would differ to the part he said the entire African continent is behind DR Congo as they have a legal case against the Congolese.
Source: Getty Images
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DR Congo beat Nigeria on penalties in the final of the African playoff, but NFF submitted a petition to FIFA challenging the eligibility of their players.
Nigeria alleged that the Federation of Congolese Football Associations (FECOFA) misled FIFA into approving the nationality switch of some foreign-born players.
The nationality switch of the players defied the Congolese constitution, which forbids dual citizenship, as the players retain their European passports in England, Belgium, France and Switzerland, amongst others.
The players include former Manchester United stars Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Axel Tuanzebe, goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi, striker Cedric Bakambu, among others.
FIFA dismissed Nigeria’s case, and the NFF confirmed that it had launched an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sports and believes they have a valid case.
CAS ruling may take months, and the tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada may have passed before the judgment arrives, which makes an interesting case.
DR Congo begins preparations
Legit.ng previously reported that DR Congo kicked off their preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup intercontinental playoff in Mexico.
The Leopards stars arrived in Guadalajara and immediately got to work under the guidance of head coach Sebastien Desabre ahead of facing Jamaica.
Source: Legit.ng
