Yoane Wissa has failed to impress at Newcastle United but is set to play at the World Cup this summer.
Yoane Wissa has hailed DR Congo for “breaking a negative spiral” after qualifying for the World Cup.
A nervy encounter saw Les Leopards beat Jamaica 1-0 in extra time to book a spot in this year’s finals. Burnley defender Axel Tuanzebe scored the decisive goal, with Wissa netting from the penalty spot days earlier against Bermuda.
Newcastle United are yet to see the best of Wissa since his £55million move from Brentford. Tasked with filling the void left by Alexander Isak, the 29-year-old has spent the season working his way towards full fitness.
Wissa suffered a knee injury on international duty that ruled him out for three months before his first Magpies training session. Since his return, the striker has struggled to make an impact, scoring just one Premier League goal.
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Eddie Howe left Wissa on the bench for both Champions League legs against Barcelona. And when searching for a goal against Sunderland, the former Brentford man came on for the final few minutes.
Eddie Howe on Yoane Wissa fitness
The Toon boss told reporters last month that Wissa is as fit as he has been on Tyneside - putting onus on the player to perform. Howe said: "Yoane is fit, fitter probably than at any stage in his time with us. He's done a lot of work behind the scenes. He's making up for lost time in that respect and training with the group whenever we train.
"No injury concerns at all. The challenge for Yoane is when introduced and on the pitch, he's got to perform. And that'll be the same for every player. in the squad, and then I have to pick who I think is best for the job."
Yoane Wissa message after DR Congo qualify
Wissa posted an emotional message to Instagram after DR Congo ensured World Cup qualification. He wrote: "Today we have just realised how difficult things are to achieve without hard work and perseverance. Breaking a negative spiral, breaking a wheel much bigger than ourselves, has been the most important and trying test in our history.
"We will never play the same way again, we will never sing this national anthem the same way again. We are not perfect, but we have been mocked, ridiculed, humiliated, but we have always faced adversity head-on.
"Thank you to the previous generations, because we are your children, you shaped us, you fought for better conditions and for us to focus on our football. This victory is also yours. This victory is global. Yesterday I cried tears of joy because of hardships in my life I've endured and today is also a personal consecration.
“Thanks to little Yoane Wissa who suffered injustices, insults, rejections, but who has always had love, or never gave up and forged his brain and heart against everything. Thank you to my family for accompanying me, helping me, loving me (and) protecting me so today we can live together what we never thought would happen in our life.”
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