Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo – The Democratic Republic of Congo’s remarkable World Cup journey may have ended with a last-16 loss to England, but for many Congolese, Leopards rewrote the country’s World Cup history.
More than 50 years after their only World Cup appearance, the Leopards have united a country scarred by conflict, epidemics and political uncertainty in a fearless campaign that has given millions of Congolese a rare sense of unity.
“It’s not often that I feel proud to be Congolese. During this World Cup, our national team made us proud as if nothing were wrong. I believe we are witnessing the greatest generation in the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” Bunia student Heritie Mouisa, 28, told Al Jazeera.
Born in Zaire in 1974
The contrast with 1974 could not be starker. Leopards, then playing as Zaire, suffered heavy defeats against Scotland, Yugoslavia and Brazil, losing all three games scoreless.
“We were a great country back then. It felt like a curse to lose by such a scoreline without scoring a single goal,” Lucambila Jacks, 65, told Al Jazeera after watching Leopards’ first World Cup match.
No player epitomizes the Leopards’ resurgence more than Yoan Ouisza. His three goals made him the Democratic Republic of Congo’s first World Cup scorer and the country’s leading scorer in the history of the competition. His stunning header against Portugal ended a 52-year wait for a World Cup goal and convinced many supporters that Leopards deserved to be on football’s biggest stage.
“Like us, we never expected young people like them to be proud of over 100 million people,” Dorcas Mudimo, a 26-year-old resident of Bunia, told Al Jazeera after the loss to England.
“This is a source of pride for all of Central Africa.”
make history
The Leopards’ meteoric rise was built on a series of milestones that steadily turned hope into belief.
The breakthrough against Portugal earned the Democratic Republic of Congo a draw and sparked celebrations as far away as Kinshasa, Goma and Bunia.
“We thought we would be satisfied with just qualifying for the World Cup, but the players showed that they can compete against Portugal, Spain and other major countries,” Manasseh Limbaya told Al Jazeera, calling the tournament “fantastic” from the qualifying round.
“We beat Cameroon and Nigeria before beating Jamaica in the intercontinental playoffs. That’s when we knew this team could do something special.”
Leopards drew with Portugal, defeated Uzbekistan and narrowly lost to Colombia, but their dreams were dashed in the round of 16 against England.
Cephas Agwabe, a resident of Bunia, told Al Jazeera: “My heart was racing during the match against England. They have world-class star players and we knew we would give them a hard time.”
final whistle
Whenever the Democratic Republic of the Congo played, a packed crowd would gather at Bunia’s spectator center, and celebrations would often spill out across the city long after the final whistle had blown.
However, the atmosphere changed against England.
As the match progressed, the cheers died down. Many supporters stood in silence as the final whistle rang, while others quietly walked home in their Leopards shirts, trying to absorb the end of a campaign that had exceeded almost all expectations.
Although Leopards’ dreams were ended, England captain Harry Kane acknowledged the challenge posed by the Congolese side.
“Earlier we talked about smashing the rock. That was our motto before the game. We knew there were rocks that were hard to smash and they proved it,” Kane said after the game.
DR Congo coach Sebastian Desabres focused more on what his players achieved than on the result.
“It’s true that we are disappointed, because we believed we could do it,” the Frenchman told reporters.
“I think we played a good game. In the end we conceded some chances. One of the best players in the world scored two goals against us.”
Desabre said the defeat reflected a close margin rather than a difference in quality.
“It’s time to give credit to the players for what they showed. Maybe a little bit of experience at the end cost us the game. That’s the nature of football. We keep learning and improving.”
pride endures
For Bunia’s supporters, the defeat did little to detract from Leopards’ achievements. Fifty-two years after they finished their only World Cup scoreless and scoreless, they returned to soccer’s biggest stage and showed they can compete with the most established teams in the world.
“It was the first time I heard my country’s national anthem at a World Cup final,” Agwabe told Al Jazeera.
“Someday, I want to tell my children that I witnessed this amazing moment.”
