The Leopards will be returning to the World Cup stage for the second time since their first appearance in 1974, when they were popularly known as Zaire.
They made history in 1974 by becoming the first sub-Saharan African nation to reach the global tournament. After over half a century, DR Congo qualified for the 2026 edition under French coach Desabre.
The Leopards successfully secured their highly anticipated return by winning the FIFA Play-Off Tournament in Guadalajara, defeating Jamaica 1-0. In the 2026 tournament, DR Congo was drawn into a highly competitive group alongside Colombia, Portugal, and Uzbekistan.
Their journey will start against Portugal, who have qualified for the FIFA World Cup nine times, since debuting in 1966. While Portugal have never won the tournament, their best result was a third-place finish in 1966.
FIFA World Cup 2026
The 2026 World Cup is taking place from June 11th to July 19th in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The tournament features 48 national teams and is played at 16 modern stadiums.
Match schedule and times | Group tables | How to watch the World Cup | World Cup Format | Past winners of the World Cup
DR Congo must deal with pressure
“I want my team to play, so we’ll take risks. Those risks will be measured. There’s no fear ahead of those big events,” Desabre told reporters ahead of the game as quoted by Reuters.
“What we have to do is to deal with the pressure, the pressure of the first game. We also have a great strength that we’ll be using on the pitch, and we’re going to get started with our own specific style of play, and we are, of course, highly motivated.
“We are excited to play against such a big team.”
In his message to the DR Congo fans, Desabre said: “There are different options. We will start with one option… and based on the balance of power, we’ll see.
“We have 100 million Congolese people who will be watching us. Of course, we want to perform well. We want to show courage. And we’ll do our best on the pitch.”
Pressure on Portugal
In a different interview, defender Axel Tuanzebe said the Leopards will go into the fixture knowing Portugal have areas which they can capitalise on.
“They do have places that we can exploit and get a result from,” Tuanzebe said as quoted by the Houston Chronicle. “There's no pressure on us.
“Most of the pressure is on them, and sometimes pressure can get the better of you. We want to play our game and see where the results lead us.
“We want to have a good World Cup, for sure. We're not going to set our expectations too high, but we definitely can make an impact to help uplift African football as well. We're here to play our part, and let's see how far we can get.”
Tuanzebe concluded: “We think we have a good squad, we have a good enough team to progress in this tournament. It's going to be difficult.
“The group's very difficult. I've been saying it from the start: There are no easy games, no easy teams. So, we'll see. We’ll see. But we’re optimistic.”
After playing against the Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal, the Leopards will also face Colombia on June 23rd and Uzbekistan on June 27th.
