DR Congo national football team

DR Congo

Nickname(s)	Les Léopards English: The Leopards
Association	Fédération Congolaise de Football-Association (FECOFA)
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	UNIFFAC (Central Africa)
Head coach	Sébastien Desabre
Captain	Chancel Mbemba
Most caps	Issama Mpeko (81)
Top scorer	Dieumerci Mbokani (22)
Home stadium	Stade des Martyrs
FIFA code	COD
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	67 (21 December 2023)
Highest	28 (July–August 2017)
Lowest	133 (October 2011)
First international
Belgian Congo 3–2 Northern Rhodesia (Belgian Congo; Date Unknown 1948)
Biggest win
Congo-Kinshasa 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
African Nations Championship
Appearances	5 (first in 2009)
Best result	Champions, (2009, 2016)

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. The team is a member of FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

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.

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. 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. 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’. 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. 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. Many contemporary commentators instead held it to be an example of African football's "naïvety and indiscipline".

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 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. 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

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

2024

2025

Coaches

Players

Current squad

The following players have been selected for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations to be held in January 2024.

Caps and goals as of 19 November 2023, after match against Sudan.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Lionel Mpasi	1 August 1994	8	0	Rodez
	GK	Baggio Siadi Ngusia	21 July 1997	4	0	TP Mazembe
	GK	Dimitry Bertaud	6 June 1998	1	0	Montpellier
	DF	Chancel Mbemba (captain)	8 August 1994	74	4	Marseille
	DF	Arthur Masuaku	7 November 1993	18	2	Beşiktaş
	DF	Henoc Inonga Baka	1 November 1993	9	0	Simba
	DF	Gédéon Kalulu	29 August 1997	7	0	Lorient
	DF	Dylan Batubinsika	15 February 1996	4	0	Saint-Étienne
	DF	Joris Kayembe	8 August 1994	3	0	Genk
	DF	Brian Bayeye	30 June 2000	1	0	Ascoli
	DF	Rocky Bushiri	30 November 1999	1	0	Hibernian
	MF	Samuel Moutoussamy	12 August 1996	24	0	Nantes
	MF	Gaël Kakuta	21 June 1991	19	3	Amiens
	MF	Edo Kayembe	3 August 1998	18	1	Watford
	MF	Théo Bongonda	20 November 1995	10	3	Spartak Moscow
	MF	Aaron Tshibola	25 January 1995	7	1	Hatta
	MF	Charles Pickel	15 May 1997	5	0	Cremonese
	MF	Grady Diangana	19 April 1998	2	0	West Bromwich Albion
	FW	Cédric Bakambu	11 April 1991	46	16	Galatasaray
	FW	Meschak Elia	6 August 1997	34	7	Young Boys
	FW	Yoane Wissa	3 September 1996	16	3	Brentford
	FW	Fiston Kalala Mayele	24 June 1994	8	2	Pyramids
	FW	Silas Katompa Mvumpa	6 October 1998	6	0	VfB Stuttgart
	FW	Simon Banza	13 August 1996	3	0	Braga

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.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Esdras Kabamba	24 June 1999	0	0	Bravos do Maquis	2023 AFCON PRE
GK	Joël Kiassumbua	6 April 1992	25	0	Bellinzona	v. Mauritania, 28 March 2023
GK	Hervé Lomboto	27 September 1989	6	0	Motema Pembe	v. Mauritania, 24 March 2023 PRE
DF	Ngonda Muzinga	31 December 1994	24	0	Riga	2023 AFCON PRE
DF	Merveille Bokadi	21 May 1996	22	1	Standard Liège	2023 AFCON PRE
DF	Dieumerci Amale	17 October 1998	18	0	Difaâ El Jadidi	2023 AFCON PRE
DF	Jordan Ikoko	3 February 1994	9	0	Pafos	2023 AFCON PRE
DF	Vital N'Simba	8 July 1993	2	0	Bordeaux	2023 AFCON PRE
DF	Arsène Zola	23 February 1996	1	0	Wydad Casablanca	2023 AFCON PRE
DF	Axel Tuanzebe	14 November 1997	0	0	Ipswich Town	2023 AFCON PRE
DF	Ikoyo Iyembe	18 August 1993	6	0	Lupopo	v. Mauritania, 24 March 2023 PRE
DF	Salem M'Bakata	18 April 1998	0	0	Gaziantep	v. Mauritania, 24 March 2023 PRE
MF	Neeskens Kebano	10 March 1992	35	6	Al Jazira	2023 AFCON PRE
MF	Chadrac Akolo	1 April 1995	23	2	St. Gallen	2023 AFCON PRE
MF	Makabi Lilepo	27 July 1997	7	0	Valenciennes	2023 AFCON PRE
MF	Omenuke Mfulu	20 March 1994	5	0	Las Palmas	2023 AFCON PRE
MF	William Balikwisha	12 May 1999	4	0	Standard Liège	2023 AFCON PRE
MF	Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu	22 March 1994	3	0	Luton Town	2023 AFCON PRE
MF	Arnaud Lusamba	4 January 1997	2	0	Pendikspor	2023 AFCON PRE
MF	Jonathan Okita	5 October 1996	2	0	Zürich	2023 AFCON PRE
MF	Mukoko Tonombe	16 January 1996	8	0	Mazembe	v. Gabon, 18 June 2023
MF	Miché Mika	16 September 1996	18	0	Mazembe	v. Mauritania, 24 March 2023 PRE
MF	Samuel Bastien	26 November 1996	8	0	Burnley	v. Mauritania, 24 March 2023 PRE
MF	Christian Kinsombi	24 August 1999	0	0	Hansa Rostock	v. Mauritania, 24 March 2023 PRE
MF	Tristan Muyumba	7 March 1997	0	0	Atlanta United	v. Mauritania, 24 March 2023 PRE
FW	Jonathan Bolingi	30 June 1994	34	9	Vojvodina	2023 AFCON PRE
FW	Ben Malango	10 November 1993	21	6	Qatar SC	2023 AFCON PRE
FW	Jackson Muleka	4 October 1999	13	1	Beşiktaş	2023 AFCON PRE
FW	Aldo Kalulu	21 January 1996	5	0	Partizan	2023 AFCON PRE
FW	Gaëtan Laura	6 August 1995	0	0	Samsunspor	2023 AFCON PRE
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

As of 19 November 2023

Players in bold are still active with DR Congo.

Most appearances

Rank	Name	Caps	Goals	Career
1.	Issama Mpeko	81	1	2011–present
2.	Chancel Mbemba	74	4	2012–present
3.	Robert Kidiaba	64	0	2002–2015
4.	Zola Matumona	53	9	2002–2014
	Trésor Mputu	53	14	2004–2022
6.	Joël Kimwaki	52	3	2009–2016
7.	Yannick Bolasie	50	9	2013–present
	Marcel Mbayo	50	4	1996–2011
9.	Dieumerci Mbokani	49	22	2005–2022
10.	Cédric Bakambu	46	16	2015–present

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1.	Dieumerci Mbokani	22	49	0.45	2005–2022
2.	Cédric Bakambu	16	46	0.35	2015–present
3.	Shabani Nonda	14	22	0.64	2000–2008
	Trésor Mputu	14	53	0.26	2004–2022
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
	Jonathan Bolingi	9	34	0.26	2014–present
	Ndombe Mubele	9	45	0.2	2013–2018
	Yannick Bolasie	9	50	0.18	2013–present
	Zola Matumona	9	53	0.17	2002–2014

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record										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	9
2022										8	3	3	2	11	8
2026	To be determined									1	1	0	0	2	0
2030										To be determined
2034
Total	Group stage	1/25	3	0	0	3	0	14		83	38	20	25	134	89

Africa Cup of Nations

Africa Cup of Nations
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
2004	Group stage	15th	3	0	0	3	1	6
2006	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	3	6
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	Did not qualify
2023	Qualified
2025	To be determined
2027
Total	2 Titles	19/34	73	20	24	29	88	99

African Nations Championship record

Africa Cup of Nations record										African Nations Championship record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2009	Final	Winners	5	3	1	1	7	5		4	3	0	1	7	2
2011	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	3	5		2	1	1	0	3	2
2014	Quarter-finals	7th	4	2	0	2	3	3		2	1	1	0	2	2
2016	Final	Winners	6	4	1	1	14	7		DR Congo qualified by walkover.
2018	Did not qualify									2	0	2	0	1	1
2020	Quarter-finals		4	2	1	1	5	4		2	2	0	0	6	1
2022	Group stage	3	0	2	1	0	3	2		2	0	0	7	1
Total	2 titles	5/6	23	12	4	7	32	24		12	7	4	1	19	8

African Games

African Games
Year	Result	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA
1965	Gold	5	3	1	1	11	5
1973-1987	Did not enter
Total	1/4	5	3	1	1	11	5

Head-to-head record

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

Opponent	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	W%	L%
Algeria	7	0	4	3	4	10	0	42.86
Angola	15	8	3	4	22	13	53.33	26.67
Bahrain	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	100
Benin	4	3	1	0	10	4	75	0
Botswana	5	2	3	0	4	0	40	0
Brazil	1	0	0	1	0	3	0	100
Burkina Faso	12	5	2	5	22	19	41.67	41.67
Burundi	4	4	0	0	9	3	100	0
Cameroon	36	11	7	18	32	46	30.56	50
Cape Verde	3	1	2	0	3	2	33.33	0
Central African Republic	7	5	1	1	18	5	71.43	14.29
Chad	1	1	0	0	4	0	100	0
Congo	38	18	12	8	66	38	47.37	21.05
Djibouti	4	3	1	0	21	3	75	0
Egypt	12	1	3	8	13	25	8.33	66.67
Equatorial Guinea	3	1	1	1	5	2	33.33	33.33
Eswatini	7	3	1	3	11	6	62.5	12.5
Ethiopia	6	5	0	1	11	4	83.33	16.67
Gabon	18	5	8	5	14	16	27.78	29.41
Gambia	3	1	1	1	3	5	33.33	33.33
Ghana	24	5	6	13	23	40	20.83	54.17
Guinea	13	5	2	4	12	9	38.46	30.77
Iraq	2	0	0	2	1	3	0	100
Ivory Coast	18	5	5	8	27	33	27.78	44.44
Kenya	12	6	2	4	16	13	50	33.33
Lesotho	7	3	4	0	17	4	42.86	0
Liberia	9	4	2	3	15	10	44.44	33.33
Libya	12	5	5	2	19	11	41.67	16.67
Madagascar	14	7	3	4	27	15	50	28.57
Malawi	7	4	2	1	9	6	57.14	14.29
Mali	11	2	4	5	14	18	18.18	45.45
Mauritania	4	4	0	0	13	1	100	0
Mauritius	5	5	0	0	16	3	100	0
Mexico	1	0	0	1	1	2	0	100
Morocco	16	3	8	5	13	19	18.75	31.25
Mozambique	7	5	2	0	15	7	71.43	0
Namibia	3	1	1	1	4	7	33.33	33.33
New Zealand	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0
Niger	3	1	1	1	3	3	33.33	33.33
Nigeria	10	4	1	5	16	16	40	50
North Korea	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Oman	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	0
Qatar	1	0	1	0	2	2	0	0
Romania	2	0	2	0	2	2	0	0
Rwanda	5	2	0	3	10	7	40	60
Saudi Arabia	1	0	0	1	0	2	0	100
Scotland	1	0	0	1	0	2	0	100
Serbia	1	0	0	1	0	9	0	100
Senegal	11	3	3	5	12	14	27.27	45.45
Seychelles	2	2	0	0	7	0	100	0
Sierra Leone	3	3	0	0	8	1	100	0
South Africa	7	1	1	5	5	9	14.29	71.43
Sudan	10	6	2	2	18	10	60	20
Tanzania	12	5	4	3	13	10	41.67	25
Togo	16	12	3	1	40	11	75	6.25
Tunisia	20	5	4	11	17	27	25	55
Uganda	14	8	1	5	28	10	57.14	35.71
Zambia	25	8	10	7	41	33	32	28
Zimbabwe	8	3	2	3	17	10	37.5	37.5