DR Congo National Team: The Leopards' Football Squad, Fixtures and Records

The DR Congo national team, known as the Leopards (Les Léopards), is the men's football team of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. On 31 March 2026 it qualified for its first World Cup since 1974, and it has been champion of Africa twice, in 1968 and 1974. Below you will find the DRC squad by position, the fixtures in your own time zone, the trophies, the records and the head to head with each of the five countries we write for. And, if you searched for the DR Congo soccer team from Johannesburg, you have found the same side.

For a reader in Lagos, the Leopards carry a particular weight, in my opinion, because they beat the Super Eagles 4 to 3 on penalties after a 1 to 1 draw in the CAF World Cup playoff final on 16 November 2025. That 2025 result gives Nigerian readers a direct connection to the Leopards' qualification story. But, the DRC matters well beyond Nigeria. Ghana's connection includes the 1968 Africa Cup of Nations final, which Congo Kinshasa won 1 to 0. Explore the Leopards alongside Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Uganda through our national teams hub.

Who Are the Leopards, and Is DRC the Same as Congo?

The Leopards are the DRC national team, the side of the large central African country whose capital is Kinshasa. The team's nickname is Les Léopards, although older fans may still say the Simbas, the name the team carried from about 1997 to 2006. The football federation behind the team was founded in 1919, and the country joined FIFA in 1962 and CAF a year later, in 1963. So, when someone calls the DRC a newcomer because of the long wait for a World Cup, the record book tells a different story.

Is DRC the same as Congo? No, the countries are neighbours with separate national teams. The Republic of the Congo, often called Congo Brazzaville after its capital, has its own national team, while the DRC is the side based in Kinshasa, across the Congo River. The DRC has also changed names itself. It first played as Belgian Congo, beating Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) 3 to 2 in 1948, then won the 1968 Africa Cup of Nations as Congo Kinshasa and the 1974 title as Zaire. DR Congo, DRC and Congo DR all mean the same team today.

Who Is in the DRC Squad?

The squad module lists the selected players by position, club and caps.

Readers in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Uganda can use the club column to connect selected Congolese internationals with the leagues they follow.

DRC Next Match and Fixtures: What Time Is Kick-Off Where You Live?

The DRC next match sits in the fixtures box at the top of the page, with the date, the opponent, the venue and, above all, the competition label. That label matters more than people think, because the Leopards play friendlies, AFCON qualifiers, World Cup qualifiers and tournament games, and the competition label distinguishes each fixture's purpose. So, read the label first and the date second. A friendly in a quiet window shows you the coach's thinking, while a qualifier decides who goes to the next tournament, and the box makes the difference plain.

Supporters following the Leopards across our five countries can use GMT as their starting point for time conversions. Accra shares GMT, while Lagos uses WAT at GMT plus one hour, Johannesburg uses SAST at GMT plus two, and Nairobi and Kampala use EAT at GMT plus three. For example, a Leopards fixture starting at 19:00 GMT means a 20:00 WAT start for Lagos viewers, 21:00 SAST for Johannesburg supporters and 22:00 EAT for those watching in Nairobi or Kampala. Each DRC fixture card groups WAT, EAT, SAST and GMT together so supporters can find their local start. Consult the broadcaster entry for viewing details in your country, since coverage can differ between Leopards matches.

How Did the DRC Reach the 2026 World Cup After 52 Years?

The 2026 story only makes sense next to 1974, when Zaire became the first team from Africa south of the Sahara to qualify for a World Cup. Their 1974 campaign included three group matches and a meeting with Yugoslavia; the results module carries the scores. It could be argued that the scoreline hid how strong that Zaire team was at home on the continent, since they were champions of Africa the same year. The return took 52 years, and that gap is what gave the 2026 qualification its emotion.

The route back was tense from the first playoff to the last. In the November 2025 CAF semi final in Rabat, Chancel Mbemba scored a stoppage time winner to beat Cameroon 1 to 0. The final against Nigeria on 16 November 2025 finished 1 to 1, and the Leopards won the shootout 4 to 3. Then, on 31 March 2026, they beat Jamaica 1 to 0 after extra time in the intercontinental playoff final in Guadalajara to seal their place. The results module records how the finals themselves went, match by match, and it stays the reference for that campaign.

What Have the Leopards Won?

The Leopards have won the Africa Cup of Nations twice, in 1968 and 1974, under two different names. As Congo Kinshasa in 1968 they beat Ghana 1 to 0 in the final, and as Zaire in 1974 they beat Zambia 2 to 0 in a replayed final after the first match ended 2 to 2. That 1974 tournament also belongs to Ndaye Mulamba, whose nine goals remain a tournament record. In my opinion, nine goals at a single AFCON is like a Lagos danfo finishing its route without one stop: you hear the story often, but you rarely see it happen.

The DRC has also won the African Nations Championship (CHAN) twice, in 2009 and 2016. CHAN eligibility centres on domestic club football: Congolese representatives must play their club football within the DRC, making those honours a tribute to talent competing locally. Add third place at the Africa Cup of Nations in 1998 and again in 2015, and the table below shows a team that keeps reaching the later rounds, even through the decades when the name on the shirt kept changing.

Who Coaches the Leopards, and How Do They Play?

Sébastien Desabre, the French coach who led the Leopards through the 2026 World Cup qualifying run, is the name most fans attach to the modern side, and the staff box above lists the current head coach and assistants. His record changes with every match, so it lives in the records module rather than in the prose. The staff and squad modules identify the coaches and players for each international window. A decisive moment in that qualifying run was the November 2025 Cameroon semi final, decided by Mbemba's stoppage time goal.

Who Holds the DR Congo Records?

The records module lists the leading appearance makers and goalscorers. The biggest win came in 1969, a 10 to 1 victory over Zambia, the same neighbour the team first played as Northern Rhodesia in 1948 and beat again in the 1974 AFCON final. The heaviest defeat is the 9 to 0 against Yugoslavia at the 1974 World Cup. Within a single tournament, Ndaye Mulamba's nine goals at the 1974 Africa Cup of Nations still stand. Caps move after every window, so the records module carries the live totals, while these all time marks change only when someone breaks them.

Where Do the Leopards Play at Home?

The Leopards play their home matches mainly at the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa, the ground most Congolese fans picture when they think of a big qualifier. Home nights there are loud, with rumba, drums and singing that carries from well before kick-off, and in my opinion it is one of the most demanding atmospheres in Africa for a visiting side to settle into. Ticket details come from the federation for each match, and the fixture card links to the official information once it is published, so check the card closer to the date rather than relying on word of mouth.

The support does not stop at Kinshasa. The Congolese diaspora in Belgium and France is large, which is why friendlies played in Europe can feel like home games, and many Congolese families live in Kampala and Nairobi, where match nights fill local bars and restaurants. So, if you are in East Africa and hear rumba from the next table on a Leopards night, you are watching the diaspora at work. Johannesburg has its own Congolese communities too, and many South African fans follow these players through their clubs as well as their country.

DRC v Nigeria and the Rest: What Does the Head to Head Say?

The defining DRC v Nigeria match is the CAF World Cup playoff final on 16 November 2025, a 1 to 1 draw that the Leopards won 4 to 3 on penalties. Nigeria's route through future qualifying campaigns depends on the relevant competition format, with group results determining whether further playoff matches are required. I would argue the two sides now meet as genuine rivals. The head to head module above holds the full record, every meeting with its date and competition, and Nigerian readers tend to search the DRC with that shootout in mind.

Ghana's link is older: the Black Stars lost the 1968 Africa Cup of Nations final 1 to 0 to Congo Kinshasa, the first continental title in the team's history. Kenya and Uganda share the East and Central African region with the DRC, so when the Harambee Stars or the Cranes are drawn against the Leopards, the regional press follows every detail, much as Ugandan coverage tracked the playoff run. Bafana Bafana meet the DRC in southern and central African competition, and the module counts those meetings too, showing the latest result first and then the all time totals for each of the five countries.

Where Do the DRC Sit in the FIFA Ranking, and What Is the Route to the Next AFCON?

The DRC's highest FIFA ranking is 28th, reached in 2017, and its lowest is 133rd, in 2011, while the current position sits in the ranking module and moves after each window. The route to the next Africa Cup of Nations runs through the CAF qualifying groups, where the leading sides in each group go through, and every qualifier in the DRC fixtures list carries that label. My advice is to watch the qualifiers more closely than the friendlies, because ranking points come mainly from competitive wins, and those are the games that decide whether the Leopards are in the draw for the finals.