DR Congo World Cup 2026 squad: Sebastian Desabre's final selection (original) (raw)
Wissa will be key this summer (Image credit: Manuel Velasquez - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
The DR Congo World Cup 2026 squad will be the first to participate in the finals since 1974, when they competed as Zaire.
The Leopards earned 22 points in their World Cup 2026 qualification group but finished second behind Senegal, having to secure their spot as the penultimate side at the tournament with an interconfederational play-off victory.
Sebastian Desabre has now named a side with plenty of recognisable faces, but has made some big decisions, too: former Newcastle United star Chancel Mbemba will captain the team, with current Toon star Yoane Wissa looking for better form this summer than he's had following his move to Tyneside.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Axel Tuanzebe go to their first World Cups since switching allegiance from England – but Belgium-born Mario Stroeykens and France-born Warren Bondo both miss out after declaring for DR Congo, along with highly-rated former Manchester United and France youth defender Willy Kambwala.
It'll be popular with plenty of fans that Desabre is backing the players who got them here in the first place, and there's every chance that the central African nation could make the next round, given that one win would be enough to guarantee passage to a knockout.
Portugal and Colombia are expected to fight it out for the automatic spots, but if DR Congo could snatch just a draw from one of them, before beating Uzbekistan, they'll almost certainly reach the last-32.
This tournament has been a long time coming, but with several big hitters, there's hope that the Sky Blues might just spring a few shocks.
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Squad
DR Congo World Cup 2026 squad: The final selection
- GK: Lionel Mpasi (Le Havre)
- GK: Timothy Fayulu (Noah)
- GK: Matthieu Epolo (Standard Liege)
- DF: Chancel Mbemba (Lille)
- DF: Arthur Masuaku (Lens)
- DF: Gedeon Kalulu (Aris Limassol)
- DF: Joris Kayembe (Genk)
- DF: Dylan Batubinsika (AEL)
- DF: Axel Tuanzebe (Burnley)
- DF: Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham United)
- DF: Rocky Bushiri (Hibernian)
- DF: Steve Kapuadi (Widzew Lodz)
- MF: Meschak Elia (Alanyaspor)
- MF: Samuel Moutoussamy (Atromitos)
- MF: Edo Kayembe (Watford)
- MF: Charles Pickel (Espanyol)
- MF: Gael Kakuta (AEL)
- MF: Noah Sadiki (Sunderland)
- MF: Nathanael Mbuku (Montpellier)
- MF: Ngal'ayel Mukau (Lille)
- MF: Brian Cipenga (Castellon)
- FW: Cedric Bakambu (Real Betis)
- FW: Theo Bongonda (Spartak Moscow)
- FW: Fiston Mayele (Pyramids)
- FW: Yoane Wissa (Newcastle United)
- FW: Simon Banza (Al Jazira)
Fixtures and results
Fixtures
- June 17, 2026: Portugal v DR Congo, NRG Stadium, Houston, United States
- June 24, 2026: Colombia v DR Congo, Estadio Akron, Zapopan, Mexico
- June 28, 2026: DR Congo v Uzbekistan, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, United States
Recent results
- March 31, 2026: DR Congo 1-0 Jamaica (AET), Estadio Akron, Zapopan, Mexico
- March 25, 2026: DR Congo 2-0 Bermuda, Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico
- January 6, 2026: Algeria 1-0 DR Congo, Rabat, Morocco
- December 30, 2025: Botswana 0-3 DR Congo, Rabat, Morocco
- December 27, 2025: Senegal 1-1 DR Congo, Tangier, Morocco
- December 23, 2025: DR Congo 1-0 Benin, Rabat, Morocco
- December 16, 2025: Zambia 0-2 DR Congo, Murcia, Spain
- November 16, 2025: Nigeria 1-1 (3-4 p) DR Congo, Rabat, Morocco
Group K standings
DR Congo are in Group K at World Cup 2026.
Manager
Who is DR Congo's manager?
Sebastien Desabre is well-versed in African football.
The Frenchman had coached in eight African countries before taking the DR Congo job in 2022, and he is has now taken the country back to the world stage after 52 years.
Remarkably, the 49-year-old has no playing career to speak of, instead moving straight into management at 30 years old.
DR Congo's star player
Who is DR Congo's star player?
Chancel Mbemba is DR Congo's current captain (Image credit: Getty Images)
Among the array of talent in the Congolese ranks, one stands head and shoulders above the rest.
Centre-back Chancel Mbemba is the Leopards' captain and all-time record appearance maker, with 107 caps.
He exemplifies the improvement in this team, going from unreliable at Newcastle to dependable at Porto, then exceptional at Marseille and now Lille.
Best XI
Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.