Congo_national_football_team

Congo national football team

Congo national football team

Men's association football team of the Republic of Congo

Not to be confused with DR Congo national football team.
This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Congo women's national football team.

The Congo national football team (French: Équipe de football du Congo) represents the Republic of the Congo in men's association football and is governed by the Congolese Football Federation. They have never qualified for the World Cup, but did win the Africa Cup of Nations in 1972. They also won the All-Africa Games football tournament in 1965. The team is also a member of both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Quick Facts Nickname(s), Association ...

History

The Congo national football team made its first ever appearance in February 1960 in a friendly against the Ivory Coast which they lost 4–2.[3] On 13 April, they defeated Reunion 4–1 in their first game to advance to the quarter-finals. In their quarter-final on 15 April, they defeated the Ivory Coast 3–2. On 17 April, they lost 5–4 to Cameroon and were beaten 8–1 by the host Madagascar in the third-place play-off on 19 April.

In April 1963 they entered another L'Amitié competition, this time in Senegal, and were drawn in a group with Tunisia, the Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mauritania. They lost their opener 2–0 to Tunisia on 13 April but beat the Ivory Coast 3–2 the next day. On 15 April they beat their neighbour Congo Kinshasa 2–1, and then Mauritania 11–0 two days later, but did not advance to the next round.

In July 1965 the Congo held the 1965 All-Africa Games and were drawn in a group with Mali, Uganda and Togo. They drew 1–1 with Mali on 18 July and beat Uganda 2–1 the next day. On 21 July they drew 1–1 against Togo but advanced through to the semi-finals, where they beat the Ivory Coast 1–0 on 23 July. On 25 July the Congo drew 0–0 versus Mali in the final, but won the tournament by having won ten corners in the final compared to Mali's one.

On 11 January 1967 the Congo played their first non-African opposition, defeating Romania 1–0 in a home friendly. On 19 February 1967 the Congo travelled to Tunisia for their first ever African Cup of Nations qualifier, drawing 1–1. On 2 August 1967 they hosted a qualifier against Cameroon, and defeated them 2–1 to top their qualifying group and advance to their first finals.

The finals were held in Ethiopia in January 1968 and the Congo were drawn in a group with their neighbour Zaire, Senegal and Ghana. They lost the opener to Zaire 3–0 on 12 January and two days later lost 2–1 to Senegal. On 16 January the Congo were defeated 3–1 by Ghana and were knocked out.

The Congo hosted a friendly against Romania for the second successive year on 16 June 1968 and won 4–2. On 30 July 1968 they played their first ever South American opposition, losing a home friendly 2–0 to Brazil.

In 1972, the Congo won their only African Cup of Nations title. Congo defeated host Cameroon in the semi-final 1–0 before beating Mali 3–2 to claim the championship. On that squad was arguably Congo's most famous player, François M'Pelé, who starred for PSG in the 1970s.

In qualification for the 1998 World Cup, the Congo came within a win of qualifying for the final tournament. However, after home wins over Zambia, DR Congo and South Africa, Congo lost their final match 1–0 away to South Africa and was eliminated.

Results and fixtures

Main article: Congo national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

27 March 2023 AFCON qualification South Sudan  0–1  Congo Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
16:00 UTC+3 Report
Stadium: National Stadium
Referee: Joseph Odey Ogabor (Nigeria)
18 June 2023 AFCON qualification Congo  0–2  Mali Brazzaville, Congo
17:00 UTC+1 Report
Stadium: Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat
Referee: Samir Guezzaz (Morocco)
10 September 2023 AFCON qualification Gambia  2–2  Congo Marrakesh, Morocco
20:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Stade de Marrakech
Referee: Mohamed Maarouf Eid Mansour (Egypt)
17 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Zambia  4–2  Congo Ndola, Zambia
18:00 UTC+2
Report
Stadium: Levy Mwanawasa Stadium
Referee: Mahmoud El Banna (Egypt)

2024

25 March Friendly Gabon  1–1  Congo Chambly, France
20:30
  • Mario Lemina!Lemina 42'
 Report
Stadium: Stade des Marais
June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Congo  v  Niger TBD, Congo
June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Congo  v  Morocco TBD, Congo

2025

March 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Tanzania  v  Congo TBD, Tanzania
March 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Congo  v  Zambia TBD, Congo
September 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Congo  v  Tanzania TBD, Congo
September 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Congo  v  Eritrea TBD, Congo
October 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Niger  v  Congo TBD, Niger
October 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Morocco  v  Congo TBD, Morocco

Coaches

Players

Current squad

The following players were called-up for the friendly match against Gabon on 26 March 2024.[4]

Caps and goals are correct as of 26 March 2024, after the match against Gabon.[5]

More information No., Pos. ...

Recent call-ups

The following players were called up for Congo in the last 12 months.

More information Pos., Player ...

Records

As of 17 November 2023[6]
Players in bold are still active with Congo.

Most appearances

Delvin N'Dinga is Congo's joint-most capped player with 56 appearances.
More information Rank, Player ...

Top goalscorers

Thievy Bifouma is Congo's top scorer with 16 goals.
More information Rank, Player ...

Competition records

FIFA World Cup record

More information FIFA World Cup, Qualification ...

Africa Cup of Nations record

More information Africa Cup of Nations record, Year ...

African Games

See also: Congo national under-23 football team
See also: Congo national under-20 football team
More information African Games record, Year ...

Achievements

Africa Cup of Nations
Football at the African Games
  • Gold medalists: 1965
CEMAC Cup:
  • Winners: 2007
UDEAC Championship:
  • Winners: 1990

References

  1. [1]
    "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  2. [2]
    "World Football Elo Ratings". www.eloratings.net. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  3. [3]
    "Congo (Brazzaville) - List of International Matches". RSSSF. Rec. Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation. 23 December 2013. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  4. [4]
    "Fédération Congolaise de Football Officiel: Liste des Diables Rouges". www.facebook.com.
  5. [5]
    "Gabon vs. Congo".
  6. [6]
    Mamrud, Roberto. "Congo-Brazzaville – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Congo national football team.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Congo_national_football_team, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.