ATLANTA — As omens go, this wasn’t a great one: just hours before the matchup that would decide their World Cup fate, DR Congo supporters learned that their most visible (and motionless) fan, Lumumba Vea, would not be in attendance for Saturday night’s match against Uzbekistan. Lumumba (real name: Michel Kuka Mboladinga) did not get a visa approved to enter the United States, and that meant Congo would have to make do with a well-meaning knockoff:
And for the first hour-plus of Saturday night’s match, Lumumba’s absence hung like a pall over Congo’s best efforts.
Advertisement
Congo have not played in the World Cup since 1974, back when the nation was still known as Zaire. In that lone appearance, the first by any sub-Saharan Africa nation, Congo lost all three matches by a combined score of 14-0.
So the fact that Congo managed a 1-1 draw against Portugal in its opening match in this year’s World Cup was nothing short of a sporting miracle. A 1-0 loss to Colombia put its dreams of advancing out of the group stage on the ropes.
“Nothing is easy in football, in life,” forward Yoane Wissa said afterward, thinking back on Congo’s path to Atlanta. “And when the time like this comes, you have to enjoy it. You have to enjoy it because it’s not easy, you know.”
DR Congo’s Yoane Wissa (20) celebrates a goal en route to helping his team secure a historic place in the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
(Molly Darlington via Getty Images)
Even before Saturday’s match began, Congo was playing with the weight of a nation on its shoulders. Hours before the match Congo president Félix Tshisekedi urged the team to victory, and urged the nation to back Les Léopards:
“This Saturday, June 27, 2026, in Atlanta, you will not be alone. Behind you, there will be more than 100 million Congolese people—our families, our youth, our elders, our provinces, our diaspora, our supporters, our soldiers, our workers, our children—all united behind you,” read the president’s statement on X. “I therefore call on all the Congolese people to mobilize, in unity, passion, and responsibility, to carry our Leopards toward the victory we all hope for.”
Eleven men carrying the hopes and dreams of 100 million. That’s a lot of weight to bear, and in the opening moments of the match, the Leopards buckled under the strain.
Advertisement
“It’s been such a crazy game,” Wissa said. “We started very badly, very poorly, I think it’s because of the weight, the weight of our shoulders.”
Uzbekistan scored just 20 seconds into the match, but that goal was overturned on an offsides call. The White Wolves then scored again, nine minutes later, and this one stood. A would-be Congo equalizer from Nathanaël Mbuku vanished when VAR determined that Mbuku grazed an Uzbekistan defender’s face with his hand while getting in position, a foul worthy of wiping out a goal.
The minutes wore on, and the nerves frayed, both on the pitch and in the stands. But then, at last, a breakthrough. Officials awarded Congo a penalty kick after a tangle, and Wissa did not miss:
Ten minutes later, Fiston Mayele salvaged brilliance out of chaos:
And then Wissa capped it all with a pinpoint dart just as regulation time ran out. All of Congo — the team and the nation alike — exhaled, and the celebrations began.
Advertisement
“I had a group of players who were amazing,” manager Sébastien Desabre said after the match. “As a coach, I have so many excellent players, but excellent people as well — big characters who are ready to give everything for Congo.”
Yes, this match was the Group K undercard. Yes, Uzbekistan leaves the World Cup without even notching a single point. And yes, Congo’s reward for winning is a date with mighty England. But in the moment, all that matters is this: Congo, a nation of 100 million people, is right this moment enjoying the greatest sporting moment in its history.
“Tonight we’re going to try to enjoy,” Wissa said. “England next is going to be a different game, a tough, tough, tough game against a top player, a tough opponent. We need to enjoy this kind of game. We deserve to play against England, one of the best teams in the world.”
That’s what makes the World Cup such a thrilling spectacle. For every Argentina or France or Brazil, stomping through the group stage with certainty and purpose, there’s a Congo, living out the dreams of millions during its all-too-rare visits to the world stage. It’s both bizarre and heartwarming that the eyes of the Congolese people were focused — at 2:30 a.m. local time — on an American football stadium literally half a world away, but that’s what sports do, building bonds and memories in unexpected ways.
Advertisement
“We are a proud country. We are proud people,” Wissa said. “We love our country. We love our national team. We love what we represent. So I think tonight we just showed what it means for us is just to fight, no matter what.”
When the final whistle blew, Congo’s players simply dropped to the turf, overwhelmed with the joy of going where no other team in their nation’s history has gone. Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Aaron Tshibola embraced the devastated Uzbekistan players before joining their teammates in joyous disbelief.
“We came from far, from nothing to be here,” Wissa said. “Now we write our story with a black pen, and we need to be proud.”
There’s little time to celebrate. Congo will next square off against England, four days from now in this same building. Perhaps there’s a bit of magic left for Les Léopards. Perhaps this fairy tale has one more chapter.
Advertisement
“We will be the challenger,” Desabre said. “It will be a very big game to play, but we will prepare, we’ll get ready.”
“Lions are waiting for us,” Wissa said in French. “Leopards, we know how to react.”
And if there’s one more miracle left for Congo, that might be enough to make even Lumumba crack a smile.
Read the full article here