🤩 Just one place left! Nation ends 52-year wait, heads to the World Cup | OneFootball

Only the qualified team between Iraq and Bolivia remains to be decided. 

After Sweden, Turkey, Czechia, and Bosnia advanced through the European playoffs, DR Congo secured the first spot in the intercontinental playoffs this Tuesday (31). 

After a goalless draw in regular time, the African side got the better of Jamaica 1-0 in extra time. 

The  Reggae Boyz were eliminated. 

The match was played at Akron Stadium in Mexico. 

DR Congo will end a 52-year drought without playing in a World Cup after securing its place as Africa’s 10th representative at the 2026 World Cup.

Algeria, South Africa, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Senegal are the others. 

There was balance when it came to possession. But DR Congo was more clinical.

The goal for the side that pushed harder only came in extra time.

From a corner kick, defender Tuanzebe scored an "accidental" goal.

His first for the national team.

DR Congo still had a chance to score a second, but Kayembe finished very poorly deep into extra time. 

The referee got INJURED 😯

The final stretch of the second half of extra time brought an "unusual" substitution.

Referee Facundo Tello felt pain in his left calf and was unable to continue.

He was replaced by then-fourth official Darío Herrera - his fellow countryman. 

Heading to its SECOND World Cup 🇨🇩

DR Congo’s only previous World Cup appearance was in 1974.

Back when it was still called Zaire.

It was part of Group 2 and lost all three matches.

After losing 2-0 to Scotland, it conceded nine goals to Yugoslavia and three to Brazil.

It was the only team that failed to score at least one goal.

The place at the World Cup in Mexico, the United States, and Canada began to be earned in the African qualifiers. 

It finished second in Group B - two points behind leader Senegal.

That secured its place in the African playoffs.

It got past Cameroon (1-0) and then beat Nigeria 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regular time + extra time. 

What now?

The final spot will go to Iraq or Bolivia.

The match kicks off at midnight this Wednesday (April 1). 

Iraq is in this position after securing the Asian playoff spot. 

Bolivia, meanwhile, kept its dream alive after finishing as South America’s seventh-best team and then getting past Suriname.

See below how all the World Cup groups stand.

Group A

Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, and Czechia

Group B

Canada, Qatar, Switzerland, and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Group C

Brazil, Scotland, Haiti, and Morocco

Group D

United States, Australia, Paraguay, and Turkey

Group E

Germany, Ivory Coast, Curaçao, and Ecuador

Group F

Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, and Sweden

Group G

Belgium, Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand

Group H

Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, and Cape Verde

Group I

France, Norway, Senegal, and Iraq or Bolivia

Group J

Argentina, Algeria, Austria, and Jordan

Group K

Portugal, Colombia, Uzbekistan, and DR Congo

Group L

England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama

Check the dates for all the matches here.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 ULISES RUIZ - AFP or licensors