The Olympic Eagles DR Congo qualifier is less than a day away, and Nigeria’s Under-23 stars are not hiding how they feel about it. In a video posted by the Nigeria Football Federation on Thursday, Brighton forward Zadok Yohanna promised Nigerians victory in both legs of the tie, and his team-mates lined up behind him with the same message.
Nigeria face DR Congo in Lubumbashi on Friday in the first leg of their second-round qualifier for the 2027 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, the route to the men’s football tournament at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. The return leg is at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne-Remo on Tuesday, 17 November, and the winners advance to the final qualifying round against Burkina Faso or Zambia.
Yohanna: ‘We will beat DR Congo home and away’
Yohanna, the 19-year-old Brighton forward who headlined Eric Chelle’s 23-man squad, was the most emphatic of the four players in the video. “Tomorrow, by God’s grace, we will win our game,” he said. “We would win both legs. I assure Nigerians that tomorrow, by God’s grace, we will beat DR Congo. We would beat them home and away. Keep us in prayers.”
The teenager has been one of the stories of the squad. He is part of a foreign-based core that Chelle built the team around, and his confidence in front of the camera matched the mood of a group that travelled to Lubumbashi believing the tie is theirs to win. Christian Akpan of Belgian side Genk also appeared in the video, asking Nigerians to get behind the team.
Edokpolor and Nwoko back the promise
Benfica forward Peter Edokpolor was just as direct. “I assure Nigerians that we are coming home with the victory,” he declared, framing the first leg as a trip to collect three points rather than a game to survive. Fulham midfielder Chibuzor Nwoko struck the same note, telling supporters: “We are going to win tomorrow. Please come support us.”
The message matters because the first leg is the hard half of the tie. The match is at the Stade TP Mazembe in Lubumbashi, and the Olympic Eagles will be playing away from home against a DR Congo side that has already shown it can turn a tie around, recovering from a 1-0 first-leg defeat to Mauritania in the previous round to win the return 2-0 and advance.
Ozebagbe plays down home advantage as DR Congo eye first-leg win
Nigeria’s U-23 head coach, Bright Ozebagbe, struck a calmer tone at the pre-match press conference in Lubumbashi, insisting the Olympic Eagles will let their performance speak. He played down the significance of home advantage, maintaining that matches are decided by what happens on the pitch rather than the venue.
DR Congo head coach Guy Bukasa, meanwhile, has made no secret of his ambition, targeting a convincing first-leg victory to put his side in a strong position to eliminate Nigeria. The winners of the tie move one step closer to Egypt 2027, and with it a return to Olympic men’s football for Nigeria for the first time since Rio 2016.
It is a huge Friday for Nigerian football. While the Olympic Eagles are in Lubumbashi, the senior Super Eagles host Tanzania in Uyo in their own AFCON 2027 qualifier, with Eric Chelle’s side needing six points from the double-header to keep their campaign alive. For the U23s, the assignment is simpler and bolder, exactly as Yohanna put it: beat DR Congo home and away. For Friday’s other big game, check today’s predictions.
Graphic: SportsBuddy design. Sources: Premium Times, FootyNaija, Sports Village Square.
