The Democratic Republic of Congo will play their 2026 World Cup opener against Portugal in Houston on June 17th, but first they will have to quarantine.
Published May 22, 2026
Due to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, members of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s national soccer team must quarantine before entering the United States for the World Cup.
Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House’s World Cup task force, acknowledged on Friday that the Congolese delegation must remain in a bubble, currently training in Belgium, and quarantine for 21 days or risk being denied entry.
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DRC is in Group K at this year’s North American World Cup. The first match will be against Portugal on June 17th in Houston, followed by Colombia on June 23rd in Guadalajara, Mexico, and Uzbekistan on June 27th in Atlanta.
“We’ve been very clear with Congo that they should maintain bubble integrity for 21 days before coming to Houston on June 11,” Giuliani told ESPN. “We have also been very clear with the Congolese government that they need to maintain a bubble or risk not being able to travel to the United States. I couldn’t be more clear.”
All DRC team members, as well as French head coach Sébastien Desabres, are based outside of Central Africa. Most have played professionally in Europe, including defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka (West Ham United) and forward Yohan Ouissa (Newcastle United) in the English Premier League, and captain and defender Chancel Mbemba (Lille) in France’s Ligue 1.
Giuliani said the United States is taking no risks regarding health and safety issues surrounding the World Cup.
“We want to make sure that nothing comes into or near our borders in this regard,” he said.
Earlier this month, the Democratic Republic of the Congo confirmed an outbreak of a rare form of Ebola called Bundibugyo. Of the nearly 600 suspected cases, more than 130 have died.
Amid the outbreak, DRC canceled their training camp in the capital Kinshasa and moved to Belgium, where the team is scheduled to play a friendly against Denmark in Liege on June 3. DRC is also scheduled to play a friendly against Chile on June 9th in southern Spain.
