A place as Africa’s representative in the 2026 World Cup inter-confederation playoff is at stake as Nigeria face Congo DR on Sunday in Rabat.

The Super Eagles are bidding to reach the global showpiece for a seventh time, while the Leopards chase only their second appearance at the mundial.

Towing the long path to World Cup qualification through a last-point resurgence, Nigeria characteristically took the hard route to victory when they faced Gabon in the African playoff semi-final on Thursday.

A gift from the Panthers saw Akor Adams open the scoring in the 78th minute, though Eric Chelle’s men failed to hold on as Mario Lemina levelled matters one minute into added time.

Victor Osimhen’s howler of a miss brought a dramatic end to the regulation period, though the Galatasaray striker atoned with a brace in extra time after substitute Chidera Ejuke nudged Nigeria back in front, sealing a 4-1 victory.

The three-time continental champions have now won five of their last six outings, netting 10 times and conceding just thrice across the most recent three, so confidence is expected to be high heading into Sunday’s African finale.

This will mark the first competitive meeting between the sides, who have not faced each other since a 1-1 friendly draw in 2018, which remains the only stalemate in the previous six encounters, with Nigeria winning two and Congo victorious in three.

The Congolese progressed to the playoff final in dramatic fashion as captain Chancel Mbemba’s stoppage-time goal handed the Leopards a hard-fought victory against Cameroon on Thursday.

Sebastien Desabre’s men have now won each of their last three outings by a solitary goal, reflecting a side that has thrived through defensive solidity rather than attacking flourish.

Congo will hope that reliable record counts on Sunday as the team aims to take a step closer to fulfilling a long-awaited dream, having not made an appearance at the World Cup since 1974, when the nation competed as Zaire.

Standing in the way of that achievement is a Nigerian team ranked 19 places higher on FIFA’s current World Rankings, though the 60th-placed Leopards may not be overly concerned going into this match as underdogs after facing 54th-ranked Cameroon.

Troy Parrott’s stoppage-time winner rounded off a hat-trick that saw the Republic of Ireland sensationally come from behind to claim an epic 3-2 victory over Hungary, sealing a play-off spot and ending the hosts’ FIFA World Cup dreams.

Three sides were battling for a top-two finish in Group F ahead of the final round of fixtures, with two of those teams facing off in Budapest.

Cheered on by a fervent crowd inside the Puskas Arena, it was the hosts who struck first in the fourth minute through Daniel Lukacs.

Dominik Szoboszlai played a quick one-two with Liverpool team-mate Milos Kerkez from a short corner, which Lukacs successfully converted with a diving header at the near post.

It was the worst possible start for the Irish, but they restored parity from the penalty spot after Attila Szalai was penalised for kicking Chiedozie Ogbene’s trailing leg inside the box.

Parrott successfully dispatched the subsequent spot-kick, knowing one more goal without reply would seal at least a playoff place.

Marco Rossi’s side responded with vigour, as Caoimhin Kelleher denied Roland Sallai from deep inside the box after being superbly picked out by Lukacs’ ball from the right-hand side.

However, Barnabas Varga re-established their lead before half-time with an outstanding strike, expertly bringing down Kerkez’s cross before unleashing an unstoppable left-footed effort past Kelleher.

Al-Ittihad midfielder N’Golo Kante admits a return to Ligue 1 could happen next year.

Currently back with the France squad this week, Kante attracted an approach from Paris FC over the summer.

The Ligue 1 new-boys are expected to try again in 2026 and Kante admits nothing is being ruled out regarding his future.

He told Telefoot: “We’re focused on the season at Al-Ittihad. We’ll see what happens afterward, but what I want is to make the most of the years of football I have left.

“And I hope it will be a full year at all levels.”

Asked if that will include a return to Ligue 1, Chelsea legend Kante replied: “You never know…”