The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has sharply criticised Nigeria following reports that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) submitted a petition to FIFA over the alleged use of ineligible players by the Congolese national team during the 2026 World Cup playoffs.

Reacting via a post on the Leopards’ official Instagram page on Tuesday night, DR Congo warned Nigeria against attempting to qualify for the World Cup “through the back door” after losing the decisive playoff match on penalties in Morocco.

“If you can’t win on the pitch, don’t try to win from the back door. The World Cup has to be played with dignity and confidence, not with lawyers’ tricks. Bring it on. Allez y les Leopards. Bad losers,” the post read.

The reaction followed confirmation by the NFF that it had formally petitioned FIFA, alleging that DR Congo fielded nine ineligible players during the final CAF 2026 World Cup playoff against the Super Eagles last month.

Speaking to ScoreNigeria, NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, accused the Congolese Football Federation of misleading FIFA regarding the eligibility of the players.

“The Nigerian petition is on nine players of DR Congo. FIFA were deceived into clearing those players because it is not FIFA’s responsibility to interpret or enforce domestic citizenship laws,” Sanusi said.

He argued that Congolese law does not permit dual citizenship, a condition he claimed applied to the players involved.

“DR Congo law does not allow dual citizenship, yet some of the players reportedly hold dual nationality,” he added.

Sanusi further explained that FIFA’s clearance was based solely on documentation submitted to it.

“FIFA rules state that once a player has a valid passport of a country, he is eligible, which is why they were cleared. However, our concern is that FIFA was deceived. It is not FIFA’s role to enforce domestic regulations; FIFA acts on what is presented. What we are saying is that the process was fraudulent,” he stated.

The controversy has reignited hope among Nigerian football fans, as the Super Eagles seek to avoid missing a second consecutive World Cup. Nigeria last featured at the global showpiece in Russia in 2018 and narrowly failed to qualify for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

Missing out on the 2026 World Cup would mark back-to-back absences for Africa’s most populous nation.