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Aron Wright - June 5, 2026
DR Congo return to the World Cup after 52 years and the story of how they got here is one of the great qualification narratives in recent football history.
They were the last of the 48 teams to confirm their place. Axel Tuanzebe scored in the 100th minute of extra time against Jamaica in the inter-confederation playoff on March 31, 2026 to seal their spot. A nation of 100 million people celebrated.
DR Congo are drawn in Group K of the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside Portugal, Colombia and Uzbekistan.
The squad Sebastien Desabre has built is not a group of passengers. They beat Cameroon and Nigeria in the CAF second round. Their captain Chancel Mbemba has 107 caps. Yoane Wissa plays for Newcastle United. Aaron Wan-Bissaka plays for West Ham. Cedric Bakambu plays for Real Betis and needs one goal to break the all-time DR Congo scoring record. This team has quality. They are not here simply to experience the tournament.
Appearances: 2 | Best finish: Group stage (1974 as Zaire) | 52-year absence between appearances
DR Congo’s only previous World Cup was in 1974 in West Germany, when they competed as Zaire. They were the first Sub-Saharan African nation ever to qualify for a World Cup and they arrived as African champions, having won the Cup of Nations just months earlier. What followed was one of the most painful and politically charged campaigns in the tournament’s history.
Dictator Mobutu Sese Seko had promised each player a car, a house and financial rewards for qualifying. After a 2-0 defeat to Scotland in their opener, Mobutu informed the squad the promises were withdrawn. The players effectively refused to perform. They lost 9-0 to Yugoslavia, a result still among the heaviest in World Cup history. Against Brazil they trailed 3-0 when defender Mwepu Ilunga sprinted from the defensive wall and kicked the ball away during a Rivelino free kick.
For years it was treated as a moment of madness. Ilunga later explained it was a desperate act. He was trying to waste time because the players feared that if Brazil scored a fourth goal they would be returned home and punished by Mobutu. They conceded 14 goals, scored none and went home to a country that had promised them rewards and delivered threats.
Fifty-two years have passed since then. The country has changed its name. The players in this squad are diaspora-born Europeans who compete in the Premier League, La Liga and the Belgian Pro League. This is a completely different DR Congo. The shadow of 1974 is part of their history. It is not their identity.
Desabre is one of the most experienced coaches in African football. Before taking the DR Congo job in 2022, he had managed in eight different African countries, including Uganda, Egypt and Ivory Coast. His understanding of the African game, its rhythms, its pressures and its politics, is deeper than almost any other coach working on the continent. He knows how to get results in difficult environments.
The qualification campaign he oversaw was the most dramatic in recent African history. DR Congo finished second in their CAF group behind Senegal. They then beat Cameroon in the second round with Mbemba scoring in injury time.
Three days later they beat Nigeria on penalties after a 1-1 draw across 120 minutes. They then beat Jamaica in the inter-confederation playoff thanks to Tuanzebe’s 100th-minute winner. Three knockout ties. Three times they needed the big moment. Three times they found it. Desabre built the resilience that made those moments possible.
Formation: 4-3-3 / 4-5-1 out of possession
Desabre uses a 4-3-3 that becomes a compact 4-5-1 when DR Congo are without the ball. The defensive shape is disciplined and hard to break down. Wan-Bissaka provides elite defensive quality at right back. Mbemba and his centre-back partner are the backbone of the organisation. When DR Congo win the ball they transition quickly, using Wissa’s pace in behind and Bakambu’s movement in the box to create chances before the opposition can reorganise.
Against Portugal and Colombia, Desabre will set up to frustrate and counter. The system is built for exactly that kind of game. Against Uzbekistan on June 27 in Atlanta, he will ask for more.
That game is effectively DR Congo’s final and he will set the team up to win it. The balance between defensive organisation and attacking ambition across three very different games is the tactical challenge of his tournament.
Wissa is DR Congo’s most dangerous attacker and the player Desabre builds the counter-attacking system around. He spent three excellent seasons at Brentford before moving to Newcastle United, where he has established himself as one of the most effective forwards in the Premier League.
His pace, his directness and his ability to finish in one-on-one situations make him a constant threat when DR Congo are running at defenders with space.
Against Portugal and Colombia, he will have limited touches. When he gets them, he is dangerous enough to change the game.
Bakambu is DR Congo’s all-time second top scorer with 21 international goals. One more breaks Dieumerci Mbokani’s record. At 35 he plays for Real Betis in La Liga and brings the kind of experience and technical quality that most players in this squad cannot match. His movement in the box, his aerial ability and his composure in front of goal give Desabre a different attacking option to Wissa’s direct running.
Cedric Bakambu is also DR Congo’s most experienced player at the highest level of European club football and his leadership in a squad facing its first World Cup in half a century is invaluable.
Mbemba is DR Congo’s captain and all-time most capped player. He has 107 appearances for his country and has been the defensive leader of this squad through the entire qualification campaign. He played at Newcastle United for years before moving to Marseille.
His experience at the highest level of European football, combined with his authority and organisation at the back, makes him the player this squad is built around defensively.
It was his goal in injury time against Cameroon in the CAF second round that sent DR Congo to the next stage. He is the player who steps forward when the moment demands it.
Wan-Bissaka built his reputation at Manchester United as one of the best one-on-one defensive right-backs in the Premier League.
He switched international allegiance from England to DR Congo and gives Desabre an elite defensive option at right back. His ability to defend in tight spaces, win duels and recover quickly makes him one of the most technically proficient defenders in this squad.
He does not attack as prolifically as some full backs but his defensive quality is the best in Group K at that position.
Tuanzebe is the man who scored the goal that sent DR Congo to the World Cup. His 100th-minute header against Jamaica in Guadalajara on March 31 is the most important goal in modern Congolese football history.
He also switched allegiance from England, where he came through the Manchester United academy and played over 50 games for the club.
At Burnley in the Championship, he is a commanding centre-back of real quality. His experience at the highest level of English football and his place in DR Congo’s qualification story make him one of the most important figures in this squad.
DR Congo will not win Group K. The quality gap between them and Portugal and Colombia is real. But they will not be here simply to make up the numbers and the June 27 game against Uzbekistan in Atlanta is a final they are capable of winning.
The Portugal opener in Houston is the hardest possible start. Desabre will set up to frustrate and limit the damage. A heavy defeat ends DR Congo’s goal difference prospects immediately.
A competitive performance, even in a 1-0 or 2-0 defeat, keeps everything alive for the Colombia game. Against Colombia in Guadalajara, a draw would be a remarkable result and would put enormous pressure on Uzbekistan ahead of the final matchday.
For a betting angle, DR Congo to beat Uzbekistan on June 27 is the most straightforward play in Group K outside Portugal winning their games.
Bakambu to score at some point in the tournament also offers value. He needs one goal to break the all-time DR Congo record and will be motivated from the first minute to claim it.
Fifty-two years is a long time to wait. This squad intends to make it mean something.
For all World Cup 2026 Match predictions and analysis, visit our predictions page.
