A 52-year wait ends
Half a century of hurt is finally over. DR Congo have reached the World Cup knockout stages for the first time, earning a round-of-32 meeting with England — a fixture that would have been unimaginable during the 52-year wilderness between their two World Cup appearances.
Their only previous tournament, in 1974 under the name Zaire, ended in ignominy: three group defeats, no goals scored, and a 9-0 thrashing by Yugoslavia that scarred a generation. One moment above all others lingered in football's collective memory — right-back Mwepu Ilunga charging out of a defensive wall to boot the ball away as Brazil prepared a free-kick. What the world took for incompetence was, in fact, political protest. The squad had been told their wages would not be paid, and President Mobutu threatened exile if they conceded more than three goals against Brazil. Ilunga tried to waste time and get sent off; he was only booked, Zaire lost 3-0, and Mobutu responded by cutting the team's funding.
In the decades that followed, conflict, corruption, and crumbling infrastructure kept the nation on football's margins. That era is now firmly behind them.
Desabre's quiet revolution
Head coach Sebastien Desabre, 49, inherited a team in crisis when he took charge nearly four years ago. The Frenchman, on his 11th African coaching appointment, has led DR Congo to successive Africa Cup of Nations, reaching the semi-finals in 2023, and now to a first World Cup knockout stage.
Desabre's work has centred on discipline, tactical flexibility, and mining the Congolese diaspora for talent — all but six members of the current World Cup squad were born in Europe. He trialled a back five ahead of the tournament, held Portugal to a 1-1 draw, lost 1-0 to Colombia, then switched to a 4-4-2 to beat Uzbekistan 3-1 and advance as one of the best third-placed teams.
His record speaks for itself: 29 clean sheets in 57 games, and DR Congo have never lost by more than one goal when their Europe-based players are available.
Players to watch
Captain Chancel Mbemba, 31, is DR Congo's most-capped player and remains the defensive cornerstone despite two seasons as a peripheral figure in France. The former Newcastle United defender is out of contract with Lille this summer.
Yoane Wissa endured a frustrating first season at Newcastle United after a move worth up to £55m, a serious knee injury limiting him to just eight starts. Yet he arrived at the World Cup in fine form, finishing as joint-top African scorer in the group stage with three goals.
