Congo DR
DR Congo are a CAF national team and two-time Africa Cup of Nations winners who qualified for the 2026 World Cup for the first time since 1974, when they competed as Zaire.
The Leopards carry a specific historical wound from 1974. At the World Cup in West Germany, playing as Zaire under the political patronage of Mobutu Sese Seko, they lost to Yugoslavia 9-0 and became a punchline about African football’s development level. The players were allegedly threatened with consequences if they lost by more goals, which produced one of the stranger tactical moments in World Cup history when Mwepu Ilunga ran from the wall and kicked the ball away during a Yugoslavia free kick, later cited as an act of protest rather than ignorance. The truth is contested. The image remains.
Fifty-two years later, DR Congo returns to the World Cup as a different proposition. The Leopards who qualified for 2026 are built on Sebastien Haller’s old adversaries and a generation of players developed in Belgian and French academies. Chancel Mbemba, the Porto and Marseille defender who captained the side through qualifying, represents the backbone of a team that pressed higher and played with more technical confidence than any DR Congo side since the Zaire era.
Muriel Ndongala provides creativity from wide positions. Arthur Masuaku, the Belgian-born left-back who chose DR Congo, offers technical quality on the flank. Paul-Jose Mpoku was the senior creative force in the midfield for qualifying, though his age makes 2026 a finale rather than a peak.
The tactical identity under Sebastien Desabre, the French coach, is a compact 4-4-2 with narrow midfield lines and directness in transition. DR Congo qualify from Africa with physical organisation and individual moments of quality rather than possession dominance.
Kinshasa is in the WAT timezone (UTC+1). For fans in DR Congo, a 20:00 CDT kickoff in the US translates to 02:00 or 03:00 the following morning. The country’s qualification is a story about recovery, not just from 1974, but from decades of war and instability that have made consistent football development nearly impossible.