{"id":20907,"date":"2025-11-14T07:11:24","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T06:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/?p=20907"},"modified":"2025-11-14T07:11:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T06:11:31","slug":"dr-congo-stuns-cameroon-in-world-cup-qualifier-thriller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/?p=20907","title":{"rendered":"DR Congo Stuns Cameroon in World Cup Qualifier Thriller"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Yaound\u00e9, Cameroon<\/strong> \u2013 In a stunning upset that reverberated across African football, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) extinguished Cameroon&#8217;s hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup finals with a dramatic, last-gasp victory. The crucial African play-off semi-final, held on Thursday evening, witnessed a tense and closely fought encounter.<\/p>\n<p>The match was largely a tactical affair, with both teams vying for control of midfield but struggling to create clear-cut chances. A well-organized defensive display from both sides ensured a goalless first half. The second half continued in a similar vein, with neither team able to break the deadlock until the dying moments of the game.<\/p>\n<p>Deep into added time, in the 92nd minute, DR Congo&#8217;s Chancel Mbemba seized upon a loose ball following a corner. His powerful, volleyed strike found the back of the net, leaving Cameroon&#8217;s goalkeeper Andre Onana with no chance and sending shockwaves through the stadium. The late goal secured a sensational victory for DR Congo, shattering Cameroon&#8217;s World Cup dreams.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Indomitable Lions<\/em>, once considered a strong contender for a place in the global tournament, now face a period of reflection. For DR Congo, the victory propels them into the final of the African play-off, where they will face Nigeria, who convincingly defeated Gabon 4-1. DR Congo are now just one step away from securing a coveted spot at the 2026 World Cup, while Cameroon is left to rue what might have been.<\/p>\n<p>This dramatic encounter serves as a stark reminder of the unpredictable nature of football and the unwavering determination of teams vying for a place on the world stage.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/?cat=40\">More Sports articles on DZWatch<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\">DZWatch &#8211; Your News Portal<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yaound\u00e9, Cameroon \u2013 In a stunning upset that reverberated across African football, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) extinguished Cameroon&#8217;s hopes of reaching the 2026 World Cup finals with a dramatic, last-gasp victory. The crucial African play-off semi-final, held on &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","iawp_total_views":5,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20907"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20909,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20907\/revisions\/20909"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}