DR Congo keen to forget difficult preparations as they begin World Cup journey in Houston

The Congolese squad touched down in the United States on Thursday, among the final teams to arrive, and will face Portugal in their Group K opener in Houston on Wednesday. Colombia and Uzbekistan complete the group.

Coach Sebastien Desabre put the players through their paces in sweltering humidity under overcast skies, but there were only smiles as fans from the local Congolese community cheered their training session.

Desabre will be glad to focus on football after relocating a planned friendly against Chile from Spain to France this week due to concerns about the Ebola virus outbreak in the country, which as of Friday had 676 confirmed cases and had caused 136 deaths.

"We are concentrated on the first match against Portugal and performing well," Desabre said in a brief conversation with reporters. "All three matches are important, but we are not looking beyond Portugal for now."

The Congolese team are making their first World Cup appearance since the 1974 finals, when they competed as Zaire, and they have high hopes of progressing deep into the knockout stages, shared by both players and supporters.

"This is an opportunity for the Congolese community in Houston to unite and celebrate the team," local resident Christina Badibanga told Reuters.

"We want people to see and hear us, and we are all sharing photos and videos on social media for those back home (who could not travel to the tournament due to restrictions related to the Ebola virus).

"We are thrilled to take part in the World Cup after such a long absence and display the vibrancy of our culture. This is very important to us, to share it with the world."

The team trained in front of 250 children from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Houston, an organisation that provides after-school programmes, mentorship and academic support to over 55,000 young students in the region.