Democratic Republic of Congo: Long Wait!

Africa is represented atthe upcoming WorldCup by 10 teams, andthe Democratic Republic ofCongo (DRC) claimed the finalAfrican spot after a long journey. Drawn in Group B of theAfrican qualifiers, the Leopards struggled but finishedsecond behind Senegal, thusmissing direct qualification.As one of the four best second-placed teams in the CAFzone, Coach Sébastien Desabre’s men progressed to theAfrican play-offs. In the semi-finals, Chancel Mbemba sentan entire nation into raptureswith a late winner againstCameroon (1–0). Then, in thefinal against Nigeria, DRCongo held their nerve in atense penalty shootout toclaim victory (1–1 a.e.t., 4–3on penalties). They movedto the FIFA Play-off tournament. There, the team defeated Jamaica in the Finalof Path A (1-0 a.e.t) to securetheir place in the 2026 FIFAWorld Cup. DR Congo suddenly felt the weight of overfive decades of frustrationlifted from their shoulders.The Leopards had been pursuing a return to the WorldCup since 1974 and finallyachieved the feat. Now they are back to begina new story full of ambition.Drawn in Group K, where theywill face Colombia, Portugaland Uzbekistan, the teamhas been preparing accordingly. After several days of training in Belgium, the Leopardsconcluded their first testmatch against Denmark witha powerful performance despite the 0–0 scoreline on June3, 2026....