Theo Batombo Bongonda of DR Congo celebrates goal during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations AFCON match between DRC and Benin in Rabat, Morocco on 22 December 2025 ©Weam MostafaBackpagePix
Monday Mar 30, 2026. 15:00
A place at the 2026 World Cup will be up for grabs when DR Congo and Jamaica lock horns at the Estadio Akron in the inter-continental playoff final on Tuesday, March 31.
Kick-off is at 11pm CAT (SA, GMT+2).
Sebastien Desabre is hoping to achieve the goal he set three and a half years ago when he took charge of the Leopards after the 2022 edition in Qatar and immediately made an impact as he guided them to fourth place at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Desabre’s side didn’t do nearly as well at AFCON 2025, having exited the tournament in the round of 16, but the Frenchman’s main objective has always been the global showpiece in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
The Central Africans narrowly missed out on automatic qualification after finishing two points behind Senegal in Group B with a record of seven wins, one draw and two losses.
DR Congo then had to navigate the second round which saw them beat regional rivals Cameroon 1-0 in the semi-finals before they overcame Nigeria 4-3 on penalties in the final.
The Leopards warmed up for the crunch clash in Zapopan with a 2-0 victory over Bermuda on March 25.
The Reggae Boyz came even closer to winning their group after being pipped to top spot by Curacao by a single point, having lost just one of their 10 games in qualifying.
Rudolph Speid’s side edged New Caledonia 1-0 in the inter-continental playoff semi-finals on March 26 to book a date with DR Congo.