Zaire_national_football_team

DR Congo national football team

DR Congo national football team

Men's association football team of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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

The DR Congo National Football Team (French: Équipe nationale de football de la République démocratique du Congo), recognised by FIFA as Congo DR, represents the Democratic Republic of the Congo in men's international football and it is controlled by the Congolese Association Football Federation. They are nicknamed Les Léopards, meaning The Leopards.[2] The team is a member of FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Quick Facts Nickname(s), Association ...

Congo DR have been ranked as high as 28th in the FIFA Rankings, as Zaire they were the first Sub-Saharan African team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup and twice won the Africa Cup of Nations. They are also one of the most successful teams in the African Nations Championship with 2 titles, along with Morocco. They are currently ranked 67th in the FIFA Rankings.[3]

History

Early history

The Congolese Association Football Federation was founded in 1919 when the country was not independent. The team played their first game in 1948 as Belgian Congo against Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia. The team recorded a 3–2 victory at home. DR Congo has been FIFA affiliated since 1962 and has been a member of CAF since 1963. The team's first official match was on 11 April 1963, against Mauritania in the L'Amitié Tournament played in Dakar, Senegal. DR Congo won the match 6–0.[4] The national team appeared in the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 1965.

Glory period

The Democratic Republic of the Congo had its first international success at the 1968 African Cup of Nations held in Ethiopia, beating Ghana 1–0 in the final. The team's biggest ever win came on 22 November 1969 when they recorded a 10–1 home victory against Zambia. Although a handful of Congolese players were playing in Europe (particularly Belgium) during these years, foreign-based players were seldom recalled for international duty; a rare exception was Julien Kialunda who represented Zaire (as the country was by then known) at the 1972 African Cup of Nations while playing for Anderlecht.

The second continental title came at the 1974 African Cup of Nations in Egypt. The Leopards recorded a 2–1 victory against Guinea, another 2–1 victory against rivals Congo and a 4–1 victory against Mauritius. These results carried Zaire through to the semi-finals where they beat hosts Egypt 3–2. In the final, Zaire drew with Zambia 2–2. Therefore, the match was replayed two days later, where Zaire won the game 2–0. Zaire player Ndaye Mulamba was top scorer with nine goals, which remains a record for the tournament. After this, the team returned to Zaire on the Presidential plane, lent to them by Mobutu Sese Seko.

Zaire were the first Sub-Saharan African team to participate in a World Cup, qualifying for the 1974 tournament in place of the 1970 participant Morocco, whom they defeated in the decisive qualifier 3–0 in Kinshasa.[5] Such was the desire to foster an identity of Zaire as a global player that Mobutu paid for advertising hoardings at the World Cup to display messages such as ‘Zaire-Peace’ and ‘Go to Zaire’.[6] At the tournament itself, Zaire did not manage to score any goals and lost all of its games, but gave credible performances against Scotland and Brazil. However, their 9–0 loss against Yugoslavia remains one of the worst World Cup defeats. A bizarre moment came in the match versus Brazil; facing a free-kick 25 yards out, defender Mwepu Ilunga, upon hearing the referee blow his whistle, ran out of the Zaire wall and kicked the ball upfield, for which he received a yellow card. This was voted the 17th greatest World Cup moment in a Channel 4 poll.[7] Ilunga has stated that he was quite aware of the rules and was hoping to convince the referee to send him off. The intended red card would have been a protest against his country's authorities, who were alleged to be depriving the players of their earnings.[8] Many contemporary commentators instead held it to be an example of African football's "naïvety and indiscipline".[9]

Crisis period

Zaire versus Brazil in the 1974 World Cup
Zaire versus Scotland in 1974 World Cup

After winning the 1974 African Cup of Nations and participating in the 1974 World Cup, the team was eliminated in the first round of the 1976 African Cup of Nations after recording a draw and two losses in the group stage. Morocco went on to win the tournament. From 1978 to 1986, the country did not qualify for the African Cup of Nations, while not participating in qualification for the 1978 World Cup and 1986 World Cup. In the 1988 African Cup of Nations, Zaire finished last in their group despite having two draws.

Return to success

From 1992 to 1996, Zaire, reached three consecutive African Cup of Nations quarter-finals. In 1992 and 1994, they were beaten by Nigeria, and in 1996 they were beaten by Ghana. In 1997, the country returned to its former name of Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the national team was re-branded as the Simbas, a nickname that stuck for the next nine years.[10] DR Congo played their first game on 8 June 1997 in Pointe-Noire which ended in a 1–0 loss to the Republic of the Congo. At the 1998 African Cup of Nations, DR Congo, led by Louis Watunda, surprisingly took third place, beating Cameroon in the quarter-finals and hosts Burkina Faso 4–1 on penalties in their last match after scoring three late goals to tie the encounter 4–4.

At the 2000 African Cup of Nations, the team finished third in their group, and in 2002 were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Senegal. Then, in 2004, DR Congo were eliminated after three straight defeats in the group stages. In 2006, led by Claude Le Roy, having finished second in the group behind Cameroon, the Congolese were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Egypt 4–1.

Struggles

DR Congo were drawn in group 10 for qualifications for the 2008 African Cup of Nations, along with Libya, Namibia and Ethiopia. Before the last match day, the Congolese led the group, but they drew 1–1 with Libya in their final match while Namibia beat Ethiopia 3–2. This sent Namibia through to the Finals, while the Leopards were eliminated. DR Congo also failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. In 2009, DR Congo won the 2009 African Championship of Nations, a competition reserved to players in domestic leagues, a tournament they would again win in 2016. DR Congo reached the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations finals in South Africa but were knocked out in the group stages after drawing all three matches.

The Ibengé era: rise and near World Cup miss

In the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, DR Congo again drew all three group matches but this time finished second in the group behind Tunisia, and therefore advanced to the quarter-finals to play their rivals Republic of Congo, a match in which the Leopards came from two goals down to win 4–2. However, they were knocked out by the Ivory Coast 3–1 in the semi-finals. They ended up finishing third, beating Equatorial Guinea on penalties, after the third place match finished 0–0 in regulation time.

DR Congo under Ibengé improved radically and had an outstanding performance for many decades in a World Cup qualification. During the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification, DR Congo was grouped with Libya, Tunisia and Guinea. DR Congo managed an outstanding performance, beating Libya and Guinea home and away, but missed the chance after losing 1–2 to eventual World Cup qualifier Tunisia in Tunis and drew 2–2 at home to the same opponent.

Results and fixtures

Main article: DR 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

14 June Friendly DR Congo  1–0  Uganda Douala, Cameroon
16:00 UTC+1
Report Stadium: Stade de Japoma
Referee: Florent Dimonya (Cameroon)
18 June 2023 AFCON qualification Gabon  0–2  DR Congo Franceville, Gabon
19:00 UTC+1 Report
Stadium: Stade de Franceville
Referee: Amin Omar (Egypt)
9 September 2023 AFCON qualification DR Congo  2–0  Sudan Kinshasa, DR Congo
17:00 UTC+1
Report Stadium: Stade des Martyrs
Referee: Samir Guezzaz (Morocco)
12 September Friendly South Africa  1–0  DR Congo Johannesburg, South Africa
 Report Stadium: Orlando Stadium
Attendance: 9,140
Referee: Thulani Sibandze (Eswatini)
13 October Friendly New Zealand  1–1  DR Congo Murcia, Spain
Wood 90+1' (pen.) Report Bakambu 46' Stadium: Estadio Nueva Condomina
17 October Friendly Angola  0–0  DR Congo Lisbon, Portugal
Report
15 November 2026 World Cup qualification DR Congo  2–0  Mauritania Kinshasa, DR Congo
17:00 UTC+1
Report Stadium: Stade des Martyrs
Referee: Elmabrouk Muhammad (Libya)
19 November 2026 World Cup qualification Sudan  1–0  DR Congo Benina, Libya
18:00 UTC+2
Report Stadium: Martyrs of February Stadium
Attendance: 3,700
Referee: Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (Ethiopia)

2024

6 January Friendly DR Congo  0–0  Angola Dubai, United Arab Emirates
15:00 UTC+3 Report Stadium: Shabab Al Ahli Stadium
Referee: Sultan Al–Hammadi (United Arab Emirates)
10 January Friendly DR Congo  1–2  Burkina Faso Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
17:00 UTC+4
Report
Stadium: Baniyas Stadium
Attendance: 0
17 January 2023 AFCON GS DR Congo  1–1  Zambia San-Pédro, Ivory Coast
20:00 UTC±0
Report
Stadium: Laurent Pokou Stadium
Attendance: 15,478
Referee: Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (Ethiopia)
21 January 2023 AFCON GS Morocco  1–1  DR Congo San-Pédro, Ivory Coast
14:00 UTC±0
Report
Stadium: Laurent Pokou Stadium
Attendance: 13,342
Referee: Peter Waweru (Kenya)
24 January 2023 AFCON GS Tanzania  0–0  DR Congo Korhogo, Ivory Coast
20:00 UTC±0 Report Stadium: Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium
Attendance: 12,847
Referee: Amin Omar (Egypt)
28 January 2023 AFCON R16 Egypt  1–1 (a.e.t.)
(7–8 p)		  DR Congo San Pédro, Ivory Coast
20:00 UTC±0
Report
Stadium: Laurent Pokou Stadium
Attendance: 12,342[11]
Referee: Abongile Tom (South Africa)
Penalties
2 February 2023 AFCON QF DR Congo  3–1  Guinea Abidjan, Ivory Coast
20:00 UTC±0
Report
Stadium: Alassane Ouattara Stadium
Attendance: 33,278[12]
Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)
7 February 2023 AFCON SF Ivory Coast  1–0  DR Congo Abidjan, Ivory Coast
20:00 UTC±0
Report Stadium: Alassane Ouattara Stadium
Attendance: 51,020
Referee: Ibrahim Mutaz (Libya)
10 February 2023 AFCON 3rd South Africa  0–0
(6–5 p)		  DR Congo Abidjan, Ivory Coast
20:00 UTC±0 Report Stadium: Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium
Attendance: 21,975
Referee: Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (Ethiopia)
Penalties
3 June 2026 FIFA WC Qualifier Senegal  v  DR Congo TBD, Senegal
10 June 2026 FIFA WC Qualifier DR Congo  v  Togo TBD, DR Congo

2025

March 2026 FIFA WC Qualifier DR Congo  v  South Sudan TBD, DR Congo
March 2026 FIFA WC Qualifier Mauritania  v  DR Congo TBD, Mauritania
September 2026 FIFA WC Qualifier South Sudan  v  DR Congo TBD, South Sudan
September 2026 FIFA WC Qualifier DR Congo  v  Senegal TBD, DR Congo
October 2026 FIFA WC Qualifier Togo  v  DR Congo TBD, Togo
October 2026 FIFA WC Qualifier DR Congo  v  Sudan TBD, DR Congo

Coaches

Players

Current squad

The following players have been selected for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[13]

Caps and goals as of 10 February 2024, after match against South Africa. [14]

More information No., Pos. ...

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up for DR Congo in the last twelve months and are still eligible to represent.

More information Pos., Player ...

Records

As of 10 February 2024[15]
Players in bold are still active with DR Congo.

Most appearances

More information Rank, Name ...

Top goalscorers

Dieumerci Mbokani is DR Congo's top scorer with 22 goals.
More information Rank, Name ...

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

See also: DR Congo at the FIFA World Cup
More information FIFA World Cup, Qualification ...

Africa Cup of Nations

Main article: DR Congo at the Africa Cup of Nations
More information Africa Cup of Nations, Qualification record ...

African Nations Championship record

More information African Nations Championship record, African Nations Championship qualification record ...

African Games

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

Head-to-head record

Including the record of  Zaire. Updated as for 13 October 2022.

More information Opponent, P ...
  1. [N 1]
    Includes the results of  Upper Volta.

References

  1. [1]
    "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  2. [2]
    "BBC SPORT | WORLD CUP | History | 1974: Zaire's show of shame". BBC News. 22 May 2002. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  3. [3]
    "FIFA". fifa.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  4. [4]
    Courtney, Barrie (14 June 2007). "DR Congo (Zaire, Congo-Kinshasa) – List of International matches". FRSSF. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  5. [5]
    "Leopards roar to Germany 1974". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  6. [6]
    "More than a game? Mobutu, Sport and Zairian Identity, 1965-1974" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  7. [7]
    "Explore". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 19 January 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  8. [8]
    "BBC Sport – Football – Zaire free-kick farce explained". BBC News. 28 May 2010. Archived from the original on 28 March 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  9. [9]
    "The Joy of Six: Symbolic reducers, including Roy Keane, Norman Whiteside and Benjamin Massing | Football". London: theguardian.com. 23 July 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  10. [10]
    "Football Team Nicknames". topendsports.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  11. [11]
    "Egypt vs DR Congo match Report". Global Sports Archive. Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  12. [12]
    "DR Congo vs Guinea match Report". Global Sports Archive. 2 February 2024. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  13. [13]
    "ARDC : la liste de 24 pour la CAN 2023 dévoilée !". 27 December 2023. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  14. [14]
    "Sud Africa vs. Congo DR - 10 febbraio 2024 - Soccerway". Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  15. [15]
    Roberto Mamrud. "Congo-Kinshasa – Record International Players". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
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