The DR Congo national football team ( French: ''Équipe nationale de football de la République démocratique du Congo''), recognised by

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

as Congo DR, represents the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

in men's international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and it is controlled by the

Congolese Association Football Federation The Congolese Association Football Federation (, FECOFA) is the governing body of football in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It founded in 1919 and affiliated to the FIFA in 1964 and CAF in 1964. It organizes the national football league ...

. They are nicknamed ''Les Léopards'', meaning The Leopards. The team is a member of

and the

Confederation of African Football The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for association football, beach soccer, and futsal in Africa. It was established on 8 February 1957 at the ''Grand Hotel'' in Khartoum, Sudan. At the FIFA Co ...

(CAF). DR Congo have been ranked as high as 28th in the

FIFA Rankings The FIFA Men's World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, first introduced in December 1992. The List of men's national football teams, men's teams of the member nations of FIFA, football's world governi ...

; as Zaire, they were the first

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

n team to qualify for the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

, and twice won the

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

. They are also one of the most successful teams in the

African Nations Championship The African Nations Championship, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship and commonly abbreviated as CHAN, is a biennial African association football tournament organized by the Confederation of Afri ...

with two titles, along with

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. They are currently ranked 61st in the

. DR Congo have previously competed variously as Belgian Congo, Congo-Kinshasa and Zaïre. Their appearance at the

1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the ...

was as Zaïre.

History

Early history

The

was founded in 1919 when the country was not independent. The team played their first game in 1948 as

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

against

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

, now Zambia. The team recorded a 3–2 victory at home. DR Congo has been

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 Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

in the L'Amitié Tournament played in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

, Senegal. DR Congo won the match 6–0. The national team appeared in the

for the first time in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

Glory period

The Democratic Republic of the Congo had its first international success at the

1968 African Cup of Nations The 1968 African Cup of Nations was the sixth edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa (Confederation of African Football, CAF). It was hosted by Ethiopia. The field expanded to eight teams, split into ...

held in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

, beating

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

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 Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

. 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 Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

. The second continental title came at the

1974 African Cup of Nations The 1974 African Cup of Nations was the ninth edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Egypt. Just like in 1972, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four. Za ...

in Egypt. The Leopards recorded a 2–1 victory against

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

, another 2–1 victory against rivals Congo and a 4–1 victory against

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

. These results carried Zaire through to the semi-finals where they beat hosts

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

3–2. In the final, Zaire drew with

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 Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...

. Zaire were the first

n team to participate in a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

, qualifying for the 1974 tournament in place of the 1970 participant

, whom they defeated in the decisive qualifier 3–0 in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

. 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 Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. However, their 9–0 loss against

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

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

and participating in the

1974 World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the ...

, the team was eliminated in the first round of the

1976 African Cup of Nations The 1976 African Cup of Nations was the tenth edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Ethiopia. The format of competition changed from 1974: the field of eight teams was still ...

after recording a draw and two losses in the group stage.

went on to win the tournament. From 1978 to 1986, the country did not qualify for the

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

, while not participating in qualification for the 1978 World Cup and 1986 World Cup. In the

1988 African Cup of Nations The 1988 African Cup of Nations was the 16th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa (Confederation of African Football, CAF). It was hosted by Morocco, who replaced original host Zambia. Just like in ...

, Zaire finished last in their group despite having two draws.

Return to success

From 1992 to 1996, Zaire, reached three consecutive

quarter-finals. In 1992 and 1994, they were beaten by

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, and in 1996 they were beaten by

. 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 Pointe-Noire (; , with the letter d following French spelling standards) is the second largest city in the Republic of the Congo, following the capital of Brazzaville, and an autonomous department and a commune since the 2002 Constitution. B ...

which ended in a 1–0 loss to the Republic of the Congo. At the

1998 African Cup of Nations The 1998 African Cup of Nations in Burkina Faso was the 21st edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (ACN), the national Association football, football championship of Africa, administered by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Just like in ...

, DR Congo, led by Louis Watunda, surprisingly took third place, beating

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

in the quarter-finals and hosts

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

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 2000 African Cup of Nations was the 22nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the association football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria, who jointly replaced Zimbabwe as host. Just like in 1998, the field ...

, the team finished third in their group, and in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

were eliminated in the quarter-finals by

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

. Then, in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, DR Congo were eliminated after three straight defeats in the group stages. In

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, led by Claude Le Roy, having finished second in the group behind

, the Congolese were eliminated in the quarter-finals by

4–1.

Struggles

DR Congo were drawn in group 10 for qualifications for the

2008 African Cup of Nations The 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the MTN Africa Cup of Nations due to the competition's sponsorship by MTN, was the 26th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial football tournament for nations affiliated with the Confeder ...

, along with

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

and

. 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 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. DR Congo reached the

2013 Africa Cup of Nations The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the Orange S.A., Orange Africa Cup of Nations South Africa 2013 for sponsorship reasons, held from 19 January to 10 February 2013, was the 29th Africa Cup of Nations, the Association football, footbal ...

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 The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was org ...

, 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 The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

, 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 The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA FIFA#Structure, confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia national football team, Rus ...

, DR Congo was grouped with

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

and

. 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 Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

and drew 2–2 at home to the same opponent.

Home stadium

Stade des Martyrs has been the home of the national team since its establishment and they roughly play their games at

Lubumbashi Lubumbashi ( , ; former ; former ) is the second-largest Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital ...

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.

2024

2025

Coaches

* Léon Mokuna (1965) * Ferenc Csanádi (1967–1968) * Léon Mokuna (1968–1970) * André Mori (1970) *

Blagoje Vidinić Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom ...

(1970–1974) * Ştefan Stănculescu (1974–1976) * Julien Kialunda (?–?) *

Otto Pfister Otto Martin Pfister (born 24 November 1937) is a German former football manager and one of Germany's most successful coaching exports, voted Africa's ''Manager of the Year'' in 1992. He is formerly the manager of the Afghanistan national team. ...

(1985–1989) * Ali Makombo Alamande (1989) * Pierre Kalala Mukendi (1992–1993) * Louis Watunda (1993) * Pierre Kalala Mukendi (1994) * Jean-Santos Muntubila (1995) *

Muhsin Ertuğral Muhsin Ertuğral (born 15 September 1959) is a UEFA Pro Licensed Turkish football manager. Playing career Ertuğral played for Antalyaspor before leaving his homeland and continuing his career at clubs in Belgium and Germany where he also ho ...

(1995–1996) * Jean-Santos Muntubila (1996–1997) * Mohamed Magassouba (1997) * Celio Barros (1997) * Saio Ernest Mokili (1997) * Louis Watunda Iyolo (1998–1999) * Médard Lusadusu Basilwa (1999–2000) * Roger Palmgren (1999–2000) * Mohamed Magassouba (2000) * Jean-Santos Muntubila (2001) * Yuri Gavrilov (2001) * Eugène Kabongo (2002) * Andy Mfutila (2002–2003) * Mick Wadsworth (2003–2004) * Claude Le Roy (2004–2006) * Henri Depireux (2006–2007) *

Patrice Neveu Patrice Neveu (born 29 March 1954) is a French association football, football coach and former player. Playing career Neveu enjoyed a short playing career in France with Angoulême CFC and ES La Rochelle. Coaching career After retiring as a pl ...

(2008–2010) *

Robert Nouzaret Robert Nouzaret (born 29 September 1943) is a French football manager and former player. Managerial career On 31 August 2011, Nouzaret resigned as DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kins ...

(2010–2011) * Claude Le Roy (2011–2013) * Jean-Santos Muntubila (2013–2014) *

Florent Ibengé Jean-Florent Ikwange Ibengé (born 4 December 1961) is a Congolese football coach and former player who manages Sudanese club Al-Hilal. Early and personal life He was born in Léopoldville on 4 December 1961. Ibengé played as a centre-back fo ...

(2014–2019) * Christian Nsengi-Biembe (2019–2021) *

Héctor Cúper Héctor Raúl Cúper (; born 16 November 1955) is an Argentine football manager and former player who was most recently head coach of the Syria national team. As a player, he was a defender who spent most of his career at Ferro Carril Oeste, w ...

(2021–2022) * Sébastien Desabre (2022–present)

Players

Current squad

The following players have been selected for the Friendlies against

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

on 5 and 8 June 2025 respectively. ''Caps and goals as of 8 June 2025, after the match against

.''

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. ^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

:''Players in bold are still active with DR Congo.''

Most appearances

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

Africa Cup of Nations

African Nations Championship

African Games

Head-to-head record

''Including the record of . Updated as for 8 June 2025.''

Honours

Continental

* CAF African Cup of Nations ** Coppa Africa

Champions (2):

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

Third place (2):

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

* CAF African Nations Championship ** Gold medal africa

Champions (2):

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Regional

* Central African Games ** Gold medal (1): 1981

Awards

* Africa Cup of Nations Fair Play Award: 2015

Summary

References

External links

Sport actualité Congo Democratic Republic

Congo DR
at CAF
Congo DR
at

Leopardsfoot
{{National sports teams of the Democratic Republic of the Congo African national association football teams D National sports teams of the Democratic Republic of the Congo