4 min readJun 17, 2026 07:30 AM IST
First published on: Jun 17, 2026 at 07:30 AM IST
On March 31, 2026, in Guadalajara, Mexico, Axel Tuanzebe scored in the 100th minute against Jamaica. The goal sent DR Congo to the World Cup for the first time since 1974. In Kinshasa, the streets filled. They had waited 52 years for this.
After the game, Cédric Bakambu told FIFA.com: “When we get back to Kinshasa, it’s going to be crazy.” They never went back.
Six weeks later, on May 15, an Ebola outbreak was declared in DR Congo, the country’s 17th since the virus was first identified there in 1976. The outbreak is of the Bundibugyo strain, one of the rarest Ebola viruses, with no approved vaccine and no approved treatment. By June 8, the Ministry of Health had confirmed 515 cases and 91 deaths. The CDC has warned it could become the largest Ebola epidemic on record, rivalling the 2014-16 West Africa crisis that killed more than 11,000 people. The disease has spread to Uganda, which confirmed 19 cases and closed most of its western border with DR Congo.
For the Leopards, the timing could not have been worse. DR Congo cancelled their training camp in Kinshasa and relocated to Belgium, where most of their diaspora players are based. On June 4, they drew 0-0 with Denmark in Liège, before moving to Marbella. A planned warm-up against Chile was cancelled when the mayor of La Línea de la Concepción banned the match. Desabre offered to play behind closed doors. The mayor refused. The game moved to Orléans, France.
The delegation must maintain a 21-day bubble outside the country before entering the United States. None of the players have visited their homeland recently.
Desabre did not flinch. “The only thing I can say is that we’re used to adapting. Whatever happens, we’ll have no problem adapting to all these situations.”
The 1974 World Cup, when DR Congo competed as Zaire under Mobutu Sese Seko’s authoritarian regime, is remembered for two things. A 9-0 loss to Yugoslavia. And Mwepu Ilunga running out of the defensive wall during a Brazil free kick to boot the ball downfield.
By many later accounts it was closer to protest than farce. Mobutu had delivered an ultimatum: lose to Brazil by more than three goals and the players should not expect to return home safely. Neither should their families. In the 85th minute, with Brazil leading 3-0, Ilunga sprinted from the wall and kicked the ball away. He later said he wanted a red card. He was trying to get off the pitch.
They lost 3-0. They went home.
Fifty-two years is a long time to carry that as your only World Cup memory.
This squad is different in every way. Captain Chancel Mbemba has 107 caps. Yoane Wissa of Newcastle is their danger man up front. The squad is drawn heavily from the diaspora, players raised in Europe, carrying their country with them.
When Tuanzebe scored that 100th-minute winner, he was a Burnley defender playing for the country of his heritage. That he was on the pitch at all had been in doubt. Nigeria challenged his eligibility, arguing that Congolese law banning dual citizenship made his participation illegal. FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee rejected the complaint, though Nigeria has since appealed. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, the West Ham right back, once said his aim was England. He came close to a senior call-up in 2019 and never received another. He is in Houston now.
DR Congo will be based in Houston. Their first match is June 17 against Portugal. Then Colombia on June 24 in Guadalajara, the same stadium where they qualified. Then Uzbekistan on June 28 in Atlanta.
The risk to fans is low. The burden on the Leopards is not. Whatever it took to get there, they got there. The longest wait in the tournament ends on a football pitch in Texas.
Players of Congo pose before the international friendly soccer match between DR Congo and Denmark in Liege, Belgium, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Havana) 
Share
