Olympic Eagles chase big result in Congo

Our Olympic Eagles Go Congo, Come Back With Wahala

Abeg make I yarn you true true, no newspaper grammar.

Our U23 boys — the Olympic Eagles — travel go DR Congo for first leg. And e no sweet.
Where and when e happen?
- Friday, Nov 13, 2026 — 2:00 PM Nigerian time
- Stade TP Mazembe, Lubumbashi, DR Congo
- Na behind closed doors — no fans inside stadium at all, na security reason dem talk.

Same day Super Eagles dey play Tanzania for Uyo. So Naija get two matches same day. Double wahala.

Final score: DR Congo 2 - 0 Nigeria

Na so e be:
- 15th minute: Congo score first goal. E get controversy sef — linesman say ball no enter, referee say e enter. Na that kind goal wey go pain you.
- 35th/36th minute: Filozofe Mabete score again. Our defence sleep small.
- Our boys create chances for early, but dem no convert am. If dem score first, story for different.

Now we get mountain to climb for second leg.

Key team news from camp — wetin happen before game?

1. Chelle no dey there. Head coach Eric Chelle na coach for both Super Eagles AND Olympic Eagles. E stay for Uyo with senior team, so assistants Deniran Ortega and Bright Ozebagbe lead the boys for Congo.

1. Squad na 23 players. 16 foreign-based, 7 home-based from NPFL. Names like Daniel Daga (Molde), Zadok Yohanna (Brighton), Peter Edokpolor (Benfica), Chibuzor Nwoko (Fulham) — small boys wey dey Europe dey try make name.

1. Late injury change. Sulaiman Sani from Al-Qadsiah injure, dem call Prince Bawa Oche from Nasarawa United replace am.

1. Boys talk before game: Yohanna talk am for video say, _"We go win both legs."_ E get confidence. Football no be by mouth sha.

Wetin this tie mean for our hopes?

Make I explain Olympic route in one simple line:

Beat Congo -> Beat Burkina Faso or Sierra Leone for March -> Go U23 AFCON for Egypt -> Finish among top teams there -> Go LA 2028 Olympics.

That's it. No shortcut.

We never go Olympics since... we miss Tokyo 2020, we miss Paris 2024. This na our chance to return.

But now, to stay alive, we must win by 3 goals without conceding for second leg.

Second leg: Tuesday, Nov 17 — Remo Stars Stadium, Ikenne, Ogun State. For our home. Fans go dey there. Boys go need us.

Where to check: Punch Sports — _"Olympic Eagles battle Congo in qualifiers"_ and _"LA 2028: Olympic Eagles suffer 2-0 loss in DR Congo first-leg"_

My honest take: E pain, but e never finish. 2-0 for away no be death sentence if we score early for Ikenne. But the boys must stop missing chances. For Ikenne, na now or never.