DR Congo – Group K World Cup fixtures
•June 17: Portugal, 8pm
•June 24: Colombia, 5am
•June 28: Uzbekistan, 2:30am
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At a time when many Congolese are confronting the hardships of conflict and disease, football has emerged as a powerful source of pride and escape.
More than 50 years after their last appearance on football’s biggest stage, DR Congo’s Leopards are heading to the FIFA World Cup with the hopes of an entire nation on their shoulders.
The nation is battling an Ebola outbreak that has claimed dozens of lives, while conflict continues to affect communities in the eastern part of the country.
DR Congo confirmed on Sunday that the number of confirmed Ebola cases is now at 515 following 27 new samples that tested positive in the previous 24 hours. This, include 91 deaths per Government records!
“The players have all been touched by what has happened in the east of the country,” said Coach Sébastien Desabre about the Ebola virus outbreak,
“We want to keep up our work and we are looking forward to the chance to keep high the image that the Democratic Republic of Congo deserves.”
The US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has warned that the the current outbreak could become the largest Ebola Epidermic on record, surpassing the 2013-16 epidemic in West Africa that claimed 11,323 lives!
Drawn in Group K alongside Portugal, Colombia and Uzbekistan, the Leopards will be looking to inspire millions back home when they make only their second appearance at a FIFA World Cup.
They canceled their planned pre-World Cup training camp at home due to the Outbreak and have been based in Belgium with a squad entirely of foreign-based players.
Their plans however suffered a big set back as their warm up match against Chile in Spain due June 9 was canceled due to fears of the virus!
Their first and only previous participation came in 1974 in West Germany when the country competed as Zaire. It remains a painful chapter in Congolese football history. The team lost all three of their matches against Scotland, Yugoslavia and Brazil, conceding 14 goals without scoring, before returning home to a hostile reception under then president Mobutu Sese Seko.
More than five decades later, however, a new generation has rewritten the story.
Led by former Uganda Cranes coach Desabre, DR Congo ended a 52-year wait to return to football’s biggest stage. Their road to qualification was far from easy, finishing second in Group B behind Senegal in the Qualifiers before overcoming some of Africa’s strongest sides including Cameroon and Nigeria, then sealing their place through a dramatic inter-confederation playoff 1-0 victory over Jamaica.
Now, the Congolese dream rests on a talented squad packed with players from some of Europe’s biggest leagues.
West Ham United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka headlines the team after switching allegiance from England last year in August.
Newcastle United striker Yoane Wissa brings goals, Burnley defender Axel Tuanzebe, Watford midfielder Edo Kayembe, Sunderland’s Noah Sadiki and former Chelsea midfielder Gael Kakuta adds quality to a squad determined to make history.
When the Leopards walk out, they will do so carrying expectations that no national team can fully satisfy. But in Kinshasa, Goma, Bukavu and across a vast Congolese diaspora, the hope is simpler: that for a few weeks the country can see itself reflected not in crisis, but in a team competing together on the world’s biggest stage.
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