{"id":11553,"date":"2026-06-27T07:30:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T07:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/involvement.co.ke\/?p=11553"},"modified":"2026-06-27T07:30:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T07:30:16","slug":"drc-returns-to-fifa-world-cup-after-52-year-absence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/2026\/06\/27\/drc-returns-to-fifa-world-cup-after-52-year-absence\/","title":{"rendered":"DRC RETURNS TO FIFA WORLD CUP AFTER 52-YEAR ABSENCE"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Jacqueline Kitamba,<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is making its long-awaited return to the FIFA World Cup, ending a 52-year absence from football&#8217;s biggest stage.<\/p>\n<p>The Leopards are participating in the tournament for the first time since 1974, when the country competed as Zaire. Their return marks a historic moment for Congolese football and a significant achievement for a nation that has spent decades watching the competition from the sidelines.<\/p>\n<p>DRC&#8217;s journey to the 2026 World Cup is characterized by determination and resilience. After failing to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 editions, the Leopards mount a successful qualification campaign to secure their place among the world&#8217;s elite teams.<\/p>\n<p>The team overcomes several major challenges during the qualifiers, including a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Nigeria in the African play-offs. The Leopards also hold their own against continental heavyweights Senegal before booking their World Cup ticket with a hard-fought 1-0 extra-time win over Jamaica in Mexico. Axel Tuanzebe scores the decisive goal that seals qualification.<\/p>\n<p>Led by captain Chancel Mbemba and head coach S\u00e9bastien Desabre, the Leopards enter the tournament determined to make an impact. Their opening Group K fixture pits them against European giants Portugal in what is expected to be one of the group&#8217;s most anticipated matches.<\/p>\n<p>For millions of Congolese supporters, the team&#8217;s participation represents more than a football achievement. It symbolizes perseverance, national pride and the revival of a footballing legacy that has remained dormant on the World Cup stage for more than five decades.<\/p>\n<p>As the tournament progresses, DRC&#8217;s return stands as one of the compelling stories of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Jacqueline Kitamba, The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is making its long-awaited return to the FIFA World Cup, ending a 52-year absence from football&#8217;s biggest stage. The Leopards are participating in the tournament for the first time since 1974, when the country competed as Zaire. Their return marks a historic moment for Congolese [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11554,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[238,70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-sports","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11553\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/invo.nyarango.me\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}