The DRC troops arrived on a flight from Paris as US authorities insisted on a 21-day quarantine period elsewhere.
Published June 12, 2026
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) national team has finally arrived in the United States for the World Cup after being forced to quarantine for three weeks in Europe due to an Ebola outbreak in their home country.
The team arrived on a flight from Paris on Thursday after US authorities said they risked being denied entry to the tournament if they completed their quarantine period in Belgium.
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Head coach Sebastien Desabres said he hoped his team would perform “well” and bring joy to their beleaguered compatriots who are dealing with the virus outbreak.
“It’s been a long time since people saw the team at the World Cup,” the Frenchman said.
“We have already qualified for the finals. Now it’s up to us to do well in this tournament.”
Democratic Republic of the Congo, which qualified for the World Cup for the first time since Zaire played in the tournament in 1974, canceled its scheduled pre-World Cup training camp in the country and instead based itself in Belgium after the country was hit by the Ebola outbreak last month.
The team’s World Cup preparations were further thrown into turmoil after a warm-up match against Chile scheduled for Spain was canceled due to concerns about the spread of the virus.
“We adapted to the situation,” Desabre said. “I had to adapt so often that I had to focus.
“That’s what we did. We worked well, played two tough friendlies and here we are. Now it’s another step for us.”
They will be based in Houston during the tournament and will play Portugal in their first Group K match on June 17th.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is then scheduled to play Colombia on June 23 in Guadalajara, Mexico, before taking on Uzbekistan on June 28 in Atlanta.
