DR Congo national football team

The DR Congo national football team, recognised by FIFA as Congo DR (formerly known as Zaire, alternatively known as Congo-Kinshasa), represents DR Congo in men's international football and it is controlled by the Congolese Association Football Federation. They are nicknamed the Leopards.,[2] The team represents FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Congo DR

Nickname(s)	The Leopards
Association	Congolese Association Football Federation
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	UNIFFAC (Central Africa)
Head coach	Christian Nsengi-Biembe
Captain	Marcel Tisserand
Most caps	Issama Mpeko (75)
Top scorer	Dieumerci Mbokani (18)
Home stadium	Stade des Martyrs
FIFA code	COD
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	60 (10 December 2020)[1]
Highest	28 (July–August 2017)
Lowest	133 (October 2011)
First international
Belgian Congo 3–2 Northern Rhodesia  (Belgian Congo; 1948)
Biggest win
DR Congo 10–1 Zambia  (Kinshasa, Congo DR; 22 November 1969)
Biggest defeat
Yugoslavia 9–0 Zaire  (Gelsenkirchen, West Germany; 18 June 1974)
World Cup
Appearances	1 (first in 1974)
Best result	Group stage, 1974
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	19 (first in 1965)
Best result	Champions, 1968 and 1974

Congo DR have been ranked as high as 28 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.

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.[3] 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.[4] 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’.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] Many contemporary commentators instead held it to be an example of African football's "naïvety and indiscipline".[8]

Crisis period

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's name changed to DR Congo and the national team was re-branded as the Simbas, a nickname that stuck for the next nine years.[9] 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.

Players

Current squad

The following players have been selected for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Angola on 9 and 17 November 2020.[10]
Caps and goals as of 17 November 2020, after the second match against Angola.[11]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Joël Kiassumbua	6 April 1992	9	0	Servette
	GK	Timothy Fayulu	24 July 1999	0	0	Sion
	GK	Jackson Lunanga	5 April 1997	0	0	Vita Club
	DF	Issama Mpeko	3 March 1986	75	1	Mazembe
	DF	Marcel Tisserand	10 January 1993	27	0	Fenerbahçe
	DF	Merveille Bokadi	21 May 1996	18	1	Standard Liège
	DF	Ngonda Muzinga	31 December 1994	16	0	Dijon
	DF	Christian Luyindama	8 January 1994	15	0	Galatasaray
	DF	Fabrice N'Sakala	21 July 1990	13	0	Beşiktaş
	DF	Bobo Ungenda	19 November 1989	13	0	1º de Agosto
	DF	Arthur Masuaku	7 November 1993	8	1	West Ham United
	DF	Gédéon Kalulu	29 August 1997	1	0	Ajaccio
	DF	Djuma Shabani	16 March 1993	1	0	Vita Club
	MF	Chancel Mbemba	8 August 1994	57	4	Porto
	MF	Neeskens Kebano	10 March 1992	28	6	Middlesbrough
	MF	Yannick Bangala Litombo	12 April 1994	23	0	Vita Club
	MF	Paul-José M'Poku	19 April 1992	20	6	Al-Wahda
	MF	Luamba Ngoma	22 January 1994	10	0	Raja Casablanca
	MF	Gaël Kakuta	21 June 1991	9	1	Lens
	MF	Samuel Moutoussamy	12 August 1996	7	0	Nantes
	MF	Jordan Nkololo	9 November 1992	6	2	Riga
	MF	Edo Kayembe	3 August 1998	2	0	Eupen
	MF	Jonathan Ifunga Ifasso	10 March 1999	1	0	Difaâ
	MF	Omenuke Mfulu	20 March 1994	1	0	Elche
	MF	Joel Ngandu Kayamba	17 April 1992	1	0	Viktoria Plzeň
	FW	Yannick Bolasie	24 May 1989	43	9	Middlesbrough
	FW	Cédric Bakambu	11 April 1991	31	13	Beijing Guoan
	FW	Jordan Botaka	24 June 1993	23	4	Charleroi
	FW	Benik Afobe	12 February 1993	5	1	Trabzonspor
	FW	Joël Beya	8 December 1999	4	4	Mazembe
	FW	Ben Malango	10 September 1993	4	1	Raja Casablanca
	FW	Yoane Wissa	3 September 1996	2	1	Lorient
	FW	Kadima Kabangu	15 June 1993	2	0	Motema Pembe
	FW	Nicke Kabamba	1 February 1993	0	0	Kilmarnock
	FW	Karim Kimvuidi Ntikubuka	13 March 2002	0	0	Motema Pembe

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for DR Congo in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Anthony Mossi	15 May 1994	6	0	Neuchâtel Xamax	v.  Morocco, 13 October 2020
GK	Parfait Mandanda	10 October 1989	20	0	Hartford Athletic	v.  Burkina Faso, 9 October 2020 ^PRE
DF	Luete Ava Dongo	23 January 1996	2	0	Antwerp	v.  Angola, 31 March 2020
DF	Amale Mukoko	17 October 1998	1	0	Motema Pembe	v.  Angola, 31 March 2020
DF	Axel Disasi	11 March 1998	0	0	Monaco	v.  Angola, 31 March 2020
MF	Jody Lukoki	15 November 1992	4	0	Yeni Malatyaspor	v.  Morocco, 13 October 2020
MF	Peter Mutumosi	25 May 1998	0	0	Urartu	v.  Morocco, 13 October 2020
MF	Miché Mika	16 September 1996	6	0	Mazembe	v.  Angola, 31 March 2020
MF	Glody Likonza	10 May 1998	0	0	Mazembe	v.  Angola, 31 March 2020
FW	Kazadi Kasengu	20 July 1992	3	0	Wydad Casablanca	v.  Morocco, 13 October 2020
FW	Nill De Pauw	6 January 1990	1	0	Antwerp	v.  Morocco, 13 October 2020
FW	Jackson Muleka	4 October 1999	4	1	Standard Liège	v.  Angola, 31 March 2020
FW	Beni Badibanga	19 February 1996	0	0	Mouscron	v.  Angola, 31 March 2020
FW	Isaac Tshibangu	17 May 2003	0	0	Mazembe	v.  Angola, 31 March 2020
^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. ^PRE Preliminary squad. ^RET Player has retired from international football. ^SUS Suspended from the national team.

Records

Most capped players As of 17 November 2020[12] Players in bold are still active, at least at club level. # Name Caps Goals Career 1. Issama Mpeko 75 1 2011– 2. Robert Kidiaba 64 0 2002–2015 3. Chancel Mbemba 57 4 2013– 4. Nicholas Griffith 53 9 2002–2014 5. Trésor Mputu 52 14 2004– 6. Kimemba Mbayo 50 4 1996–2011 7. Ndombe Mubele 45 9 2013– Youssouf Mulumbu 45 1 2008– 9. Yannick Bolasie 44 9 2013– Lakuya Mbuta 44 3 1996–2010 Tsholola Tshinyama 44 1 2001–2012

Top goalscorers As of 17 November 2020[13] Players in bold are still active, at least at club level. # Name Goals Caps Ratio Career 1. Dieumerci Mbokani 18 41 0.44 2005– 2. Shabani Nonda 14 22 0.64 2000–2008 Trésor Mputu 14 52 0.27 2004– 4. Cédric Bakambu 13 29 0.45 2015– 5. Jean-Jacques Yemweni 12 16 0.75 2000–2007 6. Ndaye Mulamba 10 20 0.5 1973–1976 Ngoy Kabongo 10 21 0.48 1981–1991 8. Dioko Kaluyituka 9 31 0.29 2004–2013 Kakoko Etepé 9 31 0.29 1970–1976 Yannick Bolasie 9 44 0.2 2013– Ndombe Mubele 9 45 0.2 2013– Zola Matumona 9 53 0.17 2002–2014

Recent schedule and results

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

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

2020

9 October Friendly	Burkina Faso	3–0	DR Congo	El Jadida, Morocco
	B. Traoré  15' Dabo  62' Yago  86'	Report		Stadium: Stade El Abdi

13 October Friendly	Morocco	1–1	DR Congo	Rabat, Morocco
	Mazraoui  45'	Report	Wissa  60'	Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium Referee: Alioune Sow Sandigui (Senegal)

14 November 2021 AFCONQ	DR Congo	0–0	Angola	Kinshasa, DR Congo
20:00 UTC+1		Report		Stadium: Stade des Martyrs Referee: Sadok Selmi (Tunisia)
Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches of matchdays 3 and 4 scheduled for March 2020 had been postponed to November 2020.[14]

17 November 2021 AFCONQ	Angola	0–1	DR Congo	Luanda, Angola
17:00 UTC+1		Report	Kebano  64'	Stadium: Estádio 11 de Novembro Referee: Victor Gomes (South Africa)
Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches of matchdays 3 and 4 scheduled for March 2020 had been postponed to November 2020.[15]

2021

17 January 2020 CHAN	DR Congo	1–0	Congo	Douala, Cameroon
20:00 UTC+1	Kubanza  47'			Stadium: Stade de la Réunification

21 January 2020 CHAN	Libya	1–1	DR Congo	Douala, Cameroon
17:00 UTC+1	Al-Mehdi  6'		Obenza  90+4'	Stadium: Stade de la Réunification

25 January 2020 CHAN	Niger	1–2	DR Congo	Yaoundé, Cameroon
20:00 UTC+1	Moussa  73'		Kabangu  27' Obenza  90+1'	Stadium: Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo

30 January 2020 CHAN QF	DR Congo	1–2	Cameroon	Douala, Cameroon
20:00 UTC+1	Lilepo  22'	Report	Ndjeng  29' Tcheoude  42'	Stadium: Japoma Stadium

22 March 2021 AFCONQ	Gabon	v	DR Congo	TBD, Gabon
--:-- UTC+1
Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches of matchdays 5 and 6 scheduled for June 2020 had been postponed to March 2021.[16]

30 March 2021 AFCONQ	DR Congo	v	Gambia	TBD, DR Congo
--:-- UTC+1
Note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all matches of matchdays 5 and 6 scheduled for June 2020 had been postponed to March 2021.[17]

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Did not enter									Declined participation
1934
1938
1950
1954
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974	Group stage	16th	3	0	0	3	0	14		11	8	1	2	20	4
1978	Withdrew									Withdrew
1982	Did not qualify									4	2	1	1	6	9
1986	Banned									Banned
1990	Did not qualify									6	2	2	2	7	7
1994										3	0	1	2	1	3
1998										8	2	2	4	11	10
2002										10	4	2	4	17	18
2006										10	4	4	2	14	10
2010										6	3	0	3	14	6
2014										8	3	3	2	11	5
2018										8	6	1	1	20	10
2022	To be determined									To be determined
2026
Total	Group stage	1/21	3	0	0	3	0	14		74	34	17	23	121	82

Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations
Titles: 2 Appearances: 19
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
1957	Part of  Belgium
1959
1962	Not affiliated to CAF
1963
Played as  Congo-Léopoldville
1965	Group stage	5th	2	0	0	2	2	8
Played as  Congo-Kinshasa
1968	Champions	1st	5	4	0	1	10	2
1970	Group stage	7th	3	0	1	2	2	5
Played as  Zaire
1972	Fourth place	4th	5	1	2	2	9	11
1974	Champions	1st	6	4	1	1	14	8
1976	Group stage	7th	3	0	1	2	3	6
1978	Did not enter
1980	Did not qualify
1982
1984	Withdrew
1986	Did not qualify
1988	Group stage	7th	3	0	2	1	2	3
1990	Did not qualify
1992	Quarter-finals	6th	3	0	2	1	2	3
1994	Quarter-finals	7th	3	1	1	1	2	3
1996	Quarter-finals	8th	3	1	0	2	2	3
Played as  DR Congo
1998	Third place	3rd	6	3	1	2	10	9
2000	Group stage	12th	3	0	2	1	0	1
2002	Quarter-finals	6th	4	1	1	2	3	4
Played as  DR Congo
2004	Group stage	15th	3	0	0	3	1	6
2006	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	3	6
Played as  DR Congo
2008	Did not qualify
2010
2012
2013	Group stage	10th	3	0	3	0	3	3
2015	Third place	3rd	6	1	4	1	7	7
2017	Quarter-finals	6th	4	2	1	1	7	5
2019	Round of 16	14th	4	1	1	2	6	6
2021	To be determined
2023
2025
Total	2 Titles	19/32	73	20	24	29	88	99

African Nations Championship record

African Nations Championship
Appearances: 5
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
2009	Champions	1st	5	3	1	1	7	5
2011	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	3	5
2014		7th	4	2	0	2	3	3
2016	Champions	1st	6	4	1	1	14	7
2018	Did not qualify
2020	Quarter-finals	5th	4	2	1	1	5	4
2022	To be determined
Total	Champions	5/6	23	12	4	7	32	24

African Games

Football at the African Games has been an under-23 tournament since 1991.

African Games record
Year	Result	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1965	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1973	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1978	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1987	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1991–present	See DR Congo national under-23 football team
Total	4/4	0	0	0	0	0	0

List of coaches

Ferenc Csanádi (1967–1968) Léon Mokuna (1968–1970) André Mori (1970) Blagoje Vidinić (1970–1974) Ştefan Stănculescu (1974–1976) Julien Kialunda (?–?) Otto Pfister (1985–1989) Paul Bonga Bonga (1989–?) Pierre Kalala Mukendi (1992–1993, 1994)

Jean-Santos Muntubila (1995) Muhsin Ertuğral (1995–1996) Jean-Santos Muntubila (1996–1997) Mohamed Magassouba (1997) Celio Barros (1997) Saio Ernest Mokili (1997) Georges Leekens (1997) Louis Watunda Iyolo (1998–1999) Médard Lusadusu Basilwa (1999–2000)

Roger Palmgren (1999–2000) Jean-Santos Muntubila (2001) Yuri Gavrilov (2001) Eugène Kabongo (2002) Andy Magloire Mfutila (2002-2003) Mick Wadsworth (2003–2004) Claude Le Roy (2004–2006) Henri Depireux (2006–2007) Patrice Neveu (2008–2010)

Robert Nouzaret (2010–2011) Claude Le Roy (2011–2013) Jean-Santos Muntubila (2013–2014) Florent Ibengé (2014–2019) Christian Nsengi-Biembe (2019–)

References

1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
2. "BBC SPORT | WORLD CUP | History | 1974: Zaire's show of shame". BBC News. 22 May 2002. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
3. Courtney, Barrie (14 June 2007). "DR Congo (Zaire, Congo-Kinshasa) – List of International matches". FRSSF. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
4. "Leopards roar to Germany 1974". FIFA.com. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
5. "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.
6. "Explore". Channel 4. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
7. "BBC Sport – Football – Zaire free-kick farce explained". BBC News. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
8. "The Joy of Six: Symbolic reducers, including Roy Keane, Norman Whiteside and Benjamin Massing | Football". London: theguardian.com. 23 July 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
9. "Football Team Nicknames". topendsports.com. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
10. https://actualite.cd/index.php/2020/11/04/elim-can-2021-nsengi-biembe-convoque-25-leopards-et-8-reservistes-dont-dark-kabangu-et
11. https://africa.espn.com/football/lineups?gameId=588017
12. Roberto Mamrud. "Congo-Kinshasa – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
13. Roberto Mamrud. "Congo-Kinshasa – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
14. "Total AFCON 2021 qualifiers postponed". CAF. 13 March 2020.
15. "Total AFCON 2021 qualifiers postponed". CAF. 13 March 2020.
16. "Total AFCON 2021 qualifiers postponed". CAF. 13 March 2020.
17. "Total AFCON 2021 qualifiers postponed". CAF. 13 March 2020.

External links

• RDC Congo Leopardsfoot
• RSSSF archive of results
• Leopardsfoot
• Sport actualité Congo Democratic Republic