The Democratic Republic of Congo kept alive hopes of a World Cup place as they edged Nigeria 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the end of extra time to win the African qualifying play-offs in Morocco on Sunday.
D.R. Congo now await the draw on Thursday for the inter-confederation play-off in March, where six teams will chase two places at the 48-team finals.
Captain Chancel Mbemba converted the decisive kick after Congolese substitute goalkeeper Timothy Fayulu, brought on a minute before the shootout, made two saves in the shootout.
Frank Onyeka had Nigeria ahead in the third minute, but Meschack Elia equalised for the two sides to be level 1-1 after extra time.
The mini-tournament in Rabat was for the best runners-up across the nine African qualifying groups, whose fixtures were completed last month, with the nine winners automatically booking a berth at the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA next year.
Nigeria, who have
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