It has been a miserable past few months for Yoane Wissa.
The striker eventually got his dream move to St James’ Park, but then suffered a serious injury before he could even get on the pitch for Newcastle United.
That injury during the crucial World Cup group qualifier against Senegal required only a draw to guarantee almost automatic World Cup qualification. Yoane Wissa scored to put DR Congo ahead and in the later stages when he was subbed out the match became a draw. Only for a very late winner from Senegal, which ultimately meant they automatically qualified for the 2026 World Cup finals.
Meanwhile, Yoane Wissa, who has missed just three Premier League games in the last three years due to injury, has yet to make his Newcastle United debut as Eddie Howe tries to get him into the best possible shape before playing him.
His absence after finishing second in their group left DR Congo dealing with the World Cup play-offs, a lengthy process if they are to get through it.
November’s internationals saw DR Congo have to be the first to get through the African phase of the play-offs.
On Thursday, an extra-time goal from former Newcastle United defender Chancel Mbemba won the African play-off semi-final against Cameroon.
This meant they had to play Nigeria in the African play-off final on Sunday.
When Nigeria took an early lead, things looked bleak, only for DR Congo to equalize.
The two teams could not divide the rest of the 90 minutes and then extra time, which meant penalties.
The score was 3-3 and with one penalty left to take, Chancel Mbemba stepped up and sent DR Congo through to the next phase of these play-offs.
DR Congo will now join Bolivia, New Caledonia, one team from AFC and two from CONCACAF in the inter-confederation play-offs.
The teams are ranked according to the FIFA Men’s World Rankings, with the four lowest-ranked teams playing in two single-elimination matches. The winners will meet the two highest ranked teams in a new series of single-elimination matches, with the winners of these matches qualifying for the 2026 World Cup finals.
These games will be played in North America in March 2026.
A huge boost for Yoane Wissa ahead of his Newcastle United debut, hopefully in the not too distant future…
#Huge #boost #Yoane #Wissa