DR Congo beat Uzbekistan 3-1 to reach the World Cup knockout stage for the first time, 52 years after their only previous appearance as Zaire.
DR Congo reached the World Cup knockouts for the first time, 52 years after playing as Zaire.
DR Congo beat Uzbekistan 3-1 on 27 June, reaching the World Cup knockout stage for the first time, 52 years after their only previous appearance, as Zaire in 1974 1. The 48-team expansion was sold partly on widening the field to nations that had never gone deep, and the bracket that filled the last 32 made that promise concrete.
Uzbekistan, World Cup debutants this year, go out at the group stage. For DR Congo, the gap from their debut as Zaire to a knockout place runs to 52 years.
DR Congo is a large country in central Africa with a long football tradition. Their national team qualified for the 2026 World Cup but had not reached the knockout stage since 1974, when the country was still named Zaire. That 52-year gap is the longest any team at this tournament had gone between knockout-round appearances. The 2026 World Cup has 48 teams instead of the previous 32. FIFA also expanded the number of places for African countries from five (at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar) to nine in 2026. DR Congo qualified via that expanded allocation. On 27 June, DR Congo beat Uzbekistan 3-1. Uzbekistan were playing their first World Cup and went out at the group stage. DR Congo's win meant they advanced to the round of 32, joining 31 other nations in the knockout bracket.
DR Congo's knockout qualification strengthens CAF's argument for maintaining or increasing African World Cup places when FIFA reviews the 48-team format and allocation ahead of the 2030 centenary tournament.
