Axel Tuanzebe’s 100th-minute goal against Jamaica in Guadalajara, Mexico sent shockwaves of unbridled joy across the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Leopards won 1-0 after extra time, securing qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — the first time the Central African giant has reached the tournament since 1974, when the country was still known as Zaire.
In Kinshasa, a city of more than 17 million people, the celebrations began within minutes of the final whistle. Videos circulated on social media showing strangers embracing in the streets, car horns blaring, and impromptu dance circles forming in downtown districts. In Goma — a city that has lived under the shadow of the M23 rebel insurgency for over a year — people gathered at bars and community centres to watch, cheer, and weep with joy.
“It has been a long time since we smiled, but today we are happy,” said Alain Kagama, a resident of Goma, where fighting between Congolese forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels has caused one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with at least 7 million people displaced.
A Victory That United a Divided Country
What made the qualification remarkable was not just its sporting significance, but its political resonance. In a country fractured by years of conflict, corruption, and governance failures, football offered a rare moment of genuine national unity. Videos showed President Félix Tshisekedi celebrating with fans and officials, embracing a moment of shared pride. Even the M23 rebel group — locked in an existential conflict with the government — issued a statement wishing the national team well, with spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka saying the whole nation was excited.
“It is a matter of joy, it is a pleasure that at the next World Cup, the Congolese national team will be represented,” Kanyuka said.
Christian Mihigo, a fan in Goma, captured the sentiment: “Today is truly a historic day… It was our parents who last saw us at the World Cup, but today we are part of a story that we will tell our children.”
The Road to Mexico
The journey to World Cup qualification was far from straightforward. DR Congo navigated a gruelling African qualifying campaign before facing Jamaica in the intercontinental playoff. Tuanzebe’s dramatic late goal — heading in from a corner in the dying moments of extra time — spared the nation from a penalty shootout and sparked scenes of delirium in stadiums and living rooms across the country.
At the World Cup proper, DR Congo has been drawn in Group G alongside Colombia, Portugal, and Uzbekistan — a formidable challenge, but one the country will approach with renewed belief.
More Than Football
For a nation grappling with immense human suffering — conflict, disease, displacement — the World Cup qualification carries a symbolic weight far beyond sport. It affirms that Congolese identity, resilience, and pride endure even in the darkest circumstances.
As the country prepares for its first World Cup appearance in over half a century, there is a tangible sense that something has shifted — that a country all too familiar with tragedy has rediscovered something worth celebrating together.