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DR Congo beat Jamaica to become 10th African nation to qualify for 2026 World Cup
01st April, 2026 07:56 AM
The Democratic Republic of Congo has qualified for the 2026 World Cup after beating Jamaica in the inter-confederation playoffs, becoming the tenth African nation to participate in the expanded edition of the global competition.
The Leopards dug deep, beating Jamaica 1-0 in extra time on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Mexico, thanks to a heroic winner from Burnley’s Axel Tuanzebe.
The nation’s last appearance saw them compete as Zaire in 1974.
Group K
Sebastien Desabre’s Leopards-coached team will now join Group K alongside Portugal, Colombia, and Uzbekistan. Congo joined the teams in contention for a World Cup slot thanks to their world ranking, sitting 49th overall in the global standings.
They finished second in their group behind Senegal and needed to overcome Nigeria in an all-African playoff to continue their pursuit of a first World Cup in over half a decade.
Africa’s milestone
For the first time, 10 African nations will grace the grand stage of the FIFA World Cup, denoting a historic milestone that speaks to the continent’s growing influence in world football.
Congo, which participated alongside Kenya in the 2025 African Nations Championship, a competition exclusively for locally assembled players, got an early lead through Cedric Bakambu, who opened the scoring from close range but was adjudged to be from an offside position.
Their hopes were not dashed as the Africans continued to dominate proceedings against the Reggae Boys, with the Real Betis striker Bakambu seeing a header effort kept out by custodian Nathan Blake again.
Extra time
Jamaica’s first chance came at the 30th minute mark when Bobby De-Cordova-Reid laid the ball on the plate for Kasey Palmer, who missed.
With no breakthrough, the tie went on to the extra time, where Congo ultimately got their noses in front just after the 100th minute.
Tuanzebe bundled home a corner from Brian Cipenga’s delivery as the African took a deserved lead in the tie.
Their qualification will see several former EPL stars and others plying their trade across Europe showcase their talent in the World Cup. Other than Tunzebe, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Chancel Mbemba, who skipper the team, are among the headline names in the Leopards team.
