The goal came in the 100th minute, and it ended 52 years of waiting. At the Akron Stadium in Zapopan, Mexico, on March 31, 2026, Burnley defender Axel Tuanzebe bundled home from close range after an in-swinging corner, and the Democratic Republic of Congo beat Jamaica 1-0 after extra time in the intercontinental play-off. The Leopards were going to the World Cup for the first time since 1974, when the country competed as Zaire.

The road to Mexico ran through African giants. DR Congo eliminated Nigeria, the Super Eagles, on penalties in the CAF play-off final on November 16, 2025, drawing 1-1 before winning the shootout 4-3, and then saw off Cameroon to reach the intercontinental stage. Nigeria cried foul, filing an appeal on November 28 alleging ineligible Congolese players and passport fraud, but FIFA deemed the complaint inadmissible on formal grounds. A Le Monde investigation published on October 11, 2026 later revealed FIFA's own legal experts had examined the claims in December 2025 and found no violation by the Congolese federation.

To understand the wait, rewind to West Germany 1974. As Zaire, the Leopards lost all three group games to Scotland, Yugoslavia and Brazil, conceding 14 goals without scoring, including a 9-0 humiliation by Yugoslavia remembered for defender Mwepu Ilunga bizarrely kicking away a free-kick before it could be taken. It was a campaign scarred by unpaid bonuses and exploitation under the Mobutu regime, and for half a century it stood as the country's only World Cup appearance.

The celebrations matched the history. The government declared Wednesday, April 1, 2026 a nationwide paid public holiday, with the Ministry of Employment and Labour calling qualification a historic milestone for the country's football. The players, led by captain Chancel Mbemba, pushed for superfan Michel Kuka Mboladinga, known as Lumumba, the motionless, paint-covered supporter who became a global sensation at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, to join the official World Cup delegation.

Drawn into Group K with Portugal, Colombia and fellow debutants Uzbekistan, DR Congo announced themselves by holding Portugal to a 1-1 draw in their opening group-stage match. It was a result that captured their campaign: organised, fearless and utterly unwilling to be overawed. As the tenth African nation at the expanded tournament, they carried the hopes of a continent that has long argued it deserves more than a supporting role at World Cups.

Fifty-two years between appearances is a lifetime in football, longer than most of the squad's parents have been alive. From the heartbreak of near-misses to the controversy of the Nigeria tie and finally the catharsis of Tuanzebe's extra-time winner, the Leopards' journey was one of the great stories of the 2026 cycle. It happened on the same dramatic night Italy's own play-off dream died in Zenica, a reminder that while Italy's women now chase Brazil 2027, World Cup destiny can turn on a single moment.