DR Congo's qualification came through a dramatic 1-0 win against Jamaica in a play-off match, with defender Axel Tuanzebe scoring the winning goal in extra time during the 100th minute, according to reports. This victory ends a long wait for the country, which last appeared in the World Cup in 1974 when it competed as Zaire, as noted by historical records. The qualification has triggered widespread national celebration, with the DR Congo government declaring Wednesday a public holiday to mark the achievement, officials stated.
With this entry, DR Congo becomes the 10th African nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, based on FIFA data. In the upcoming tournament, DR Congo will play in Group F alongside Portugal, Colombia, and Uzbekistan, as per the tournament draw. Their first World Cup match is scheduled against Portugal on June 17 in Houston, USA, according to the match schedule.
I'd definitely consider it as the biggest game in my football career.
Key to DR Congo's recent success has been the talent-spotting efforts of Gabriel Zakuani, who played a role in recruiting Aaron Wan-Bissaka to switch allegiance from England to DR Congo in August 2024, sources indicate. Zakuani serves as an assistant coach for DR Congo's Under-20 team, leveraging his connections to bolster the squad, team officials confirmed. On the other side of the qualification path, New Caledonia faces a daunting task to reach the World Cup, as they must beat Jamaica and then DR Congo in upcoming matches, based on the qualification format.
Ranked 150th in the FIFA rankings, New Caledonia confronts significant challenges due to their low standing. New Caledonia's team composition includes players like Titouan Richard, who plays for Salaise Rhodia in the French seventh tier, and captain César Zeoula, who features for US Chauvigny in the French fifth tier, according to team profiles.
The biggest game in our history.
The aim is to also compete and put on a good show, not just be participants, not just be happy to be part of the party, but also to create history.
I'm their little favourite.
When we play against New Zealand, they are all professionals. It's a different environment.
It's a good thing I don't have a job at the moment.
Sometimes [the trips] are a pain, but you have to do it.
Back in the day, it was very hard to come to the Métropole because being far from family, with the flight prices, it wasn't a given. Now it is a lot easier.
The manager contacted me out of the blue and he was in London. It was a very random trip – he just wanted to watch players that potentially could play for Congo. We met at Costa and less than an hour into the conversation I had rung up Aaron's family and we were at Aaron's house. We were having a conversation with his mum and dad about potentially getting him to change his nationality. It snowballed from there.
We thought it was the right sign to strike. We put our offer on the table. We had all his paperwork ready to sign and he agreed. I think that was his last opportunity maybe to play for England. He knew that we really wanted him.
It's become a lot easier to attract the players and the way we're performing I think is the first thing, because that's the first thing players look at if it's an opportunity for them to potentially play at a World Cup. I think we've become sort of bankers in Afcon as well. Afcon used to be a hard thing for DRC to qualify for, but now it seems a bit more straightforward, the sort of quality we've got, which has changed the views of a lot of players who were in two minds about joining.