Sebastien Desabre urges DR Congo to play Portugal without fear in World Cup opener
The Leopards will be returning to the World Cup stage for the second time since their first appearance in 1974, when they were widely known as Zaire.
They made history in 1974 by becoming the first sub-Saharan African country to reach the global tournament. More than half a century later, DR Congo secured a place in the 2026 edition under French manager Desabre.
The Leopards successfully achieved their long-awaited comeback by winning the FIFA Play-Off Tournament in Guadalajara, beating Jamaica 1-0. For the 2026 competition, DR Congo was placed in a very challenging group alongside Colombia, Portugal, and Uzbekistan.
Their campaign begins against Portugal, who have qualified for the FIFA World Cup nine times since their debut in 1966. Although Portugal have never won the competition, their best performance was finishing third in 1966.
DR Congo must handle the pressure
“I want my team to play, so we will take risks. Those risks will be calculated. There is no fear ahead of these major events,” Desabre told reporters before the match, as quoted by Reuters.
“What we must do is cope with the pressure, the pressure of the opening game. We also have a great strength that we will use on the pitch, and we will begin with our own specific style of play, and we are, naturally, very motivated.
“We are excited to face such a big team.”
In his message to DR Congo supporters, Desabre added: “There are different options. We will start with one option... and depending on the balance of power, we will see.
“We have 100 million Congolese people watching us. Of course, we want to perform well. We want to show courage. And we will give our best on the pitch.”
Pressure on Portugal
In a separate interview, defender Axel Tuanzebe said the Leopards will go into the match knowing Portugal have weaknesses they can exploit.
“They do have areas that we can take advantage of and get a result from,” Tuanzebe said as quoted by the Houston Chronicle. “There is no pressure on us.
“Most of the pressure is on them, and sometimes pressure can get the better of you. We want to play our game and see where the results take us.
“We want to have a good World Cup, for sure. We are not going to set our expectations too high, but we can certainly make an impact to help uplift African football as well. We are here to play our part, and let us see how far we can go.”
Tuanzebe concluded: “We believe we have a good squad, a good enough team to advance in this tournament. It will be tough.
“The group is very difficult. I have been saying that from the start: there are no easy games, no easy teams. So we will see. We will see. But we are optimistic.”
After facing the Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal, the Leopards will also take on Colombia on June 23rd and Uzbekistan on June 27th.