DR Congo

DR Congo (the Democratic Republic of Congo) qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on 31 March 2026, beating Jamaica 1-0 after extra time in Guadalajara. Axel Tuanzebe scored the only goal in the 100th minute. It is the country's first World Cup appearance in 40 years. They enter Group K alongside Portugal, Uzbekistan and Colombia.

The national team, known as the Leopards, last appeared at a World Cup in 1974 (as Zaire) and again in 1982 (as Zaire). They have won the Africa Cup of Nations twice, in 1968 and 1974, and are regularly among Africa's stronger footballing nations despite chronic underinvestment. The confederation route in 2026 ran through the CAF-CONCACAF intercontinental playoff, where they overcame teams from different footballing traditions across two legs in Mexico.

DR Congo is a country of roughly 100 million people and has one of the largest diaspora footballing communities in Europe, particularly in Belgium, France and the United Kingdom. The 2026 qualification is significant both symbolically and practically: it comes at a time of acute political instability in the east of the country, and the team's journey through a play-off in Mexico under heavy security represented a diplomatic as much as a sporting achievement.

Eastern DR Congo's Ituri Province is the epicentre of the 2026 Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak that prompted WHO's PHEIC declaration on 17 May 2026. Active transmission was confirmed across three health zones — Bunia, Rwampara, and Mongbwalu — with 246 suspected cases and 80-plus suspected deaths recorded before the declaration. Imperial College London assessed the outbreak had circulated undetected for at least four weeks before WHO received a signal on 5 May. INRB confirmed the species on 14 May after 13 of 20 samples returned positive. A Congolese index case crossed into Uganda, reaching Kampala's Kibuli Muslim Hospital on 11 May and dying three days later .

The outbreak's geography compounds an already severe response challenge. Djugu and Irumu territories in Ituri have seen sustained ADF (Allied Democratic Forces) insurgency activity; gold-mining migration corridors link outbreak zones to the Ugandan border. Kinshasa issued no formal Ministry of Health statement before Africa CDC's continental declaration on 16 May, one day ahead of the WHO PHEIC. The 2014 and 2018-20 Kivu DRC outbreaks both involved Zaire ebolavirus; the only prior DRC Bundibugyo outbreak was the 2012 Isiro event in Orientale Province .

There are no approved vaccines or therapeutics for Bundibugyo ebolavirus. Ervebo and the Inmazeb and Ebanga monoclonals are all Zaire-specific, leaving clinical teams with supportive care only. DR Congo plays its Group K World Cup opener in Houston on 17 June — 31 days after the PHEIC; Houston Health has named Bundibugyo in its FIFA 2026 reference-lab panel .