The qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup kick off this Wednesday in the African zone.Among the first matches is the one between the DRC and Mauritania in Group B in Kinshasa.This is a reunion between two teams who met twice in the recent CAN 2023 qualifiers.
The DRC host Mauritania on Wednesday in Kinshasa (16:00 GMT) in the opening Group B qualifier for the 2026 World Cup in Africa. It's a reunion between Leopards and Murabitounes, who met in the recent AFCON 2023 qualifiers. Memories of the last two encounters are not entirely soothing for the Leopards. While the Congolese won the first leg (3-1) in Lubumbashi, the second leg ended in a 1-1 draw in Nouakchott, with the Tunisian referee Sadok Selmi criticizing them for the red card he showed Cedric Bakambu.
The Congolese went on to win the match by a single goal after lodging a protest against Mauritania's roster of ineligible players. For DRC coach Sébastien Desabre, the past is forgotten and the focus must now be on the present match. "On the pitch, we won a game and drew over there in a context that could be described as special. But for this Wednesday's game, we're staying focused on our objective and forgetting the past. I don't know if we can talk about revenge, because it's still soccer. We'll be in a stadium that I hope will be full to support us as usual, and the players are highly motivated to get a good result," he declared.
A good start to the World Cup campaign after qualifying for the African Cup of Nations
The DRC will enter the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign in high spirits after their miraculous qualification for the 2023 African Cup of Nations, following two defeats in their first two qualifiers. The Congolese want to build on their recent good results with a new objective in mind, their coach assured them.
"The players' morale is good, and we're continuing what we've been doing for some time.
Our recent qualification for the AFCON gave us a lot of energy.But now we're embarking on a new objective with a long journey of ten matches spread over two years; we're going in with a lot of ambition to qualify, but with a lot of humility too.The main thing is to play good matches to deserve qualification," he confided.
This start to the World Cup qualifiers finds the Leopards in good form, if their recent club performances are anything to go by, especially for the key players. One example is Cédric Bakambu, who has finally opened his account with Galatasaray. The Congolese striker reduced the deficit for the Turkish club, who were beaten 2-1 by German outfit Bayern Munich on the fourth day of the UEFA Champions League group stage. Bakambu scored his first-ever goal in a European C1, at the age of 32. Chancel Mbemba is another Leopards star to have performed well in Europe. The DRC captain scored for Marseille on the fourth day of the Europa League group stage, helping them to victory over Greek club AEK Athens.
In addition to the senior players, there are a number of others who will be hoping to play their first minutes in an official match with the Leopards, including center-forward Simon Banza.
The striker from Braga (D1 Portugal), who was called up to the national team for the first time during the October break, is a new and interesting addition to Sébastien Desabre's attack, thanks to his statistics. Indeed, he is currently top scorer in the Portuguese championship with ten goals in ten matches played, and has provided two assists. He also provided the decisive assist in the Champions League against Real Madrid on the third day of the group stage. With Bakambu in good form and his son Kalala Mayele still decisive, Simon Banza offers Sébastien Desabre other tactical possibilities.
Watch out for the Mourabitounes
Even though they didn't get a single point against the DRC in the qualifiers for the AFCON 2023, the Mourabitounes have put on a very good show every time they've faced the Congolese team. As proof, they managed to qualify for the AFCON 2023 despite losing points on the green carpet. Hence the caution of sports journalist Papy Katasi."Mauritania is a good team with good players. In particular, we've seen the return of defensive stalwart Lamine Ba, not forgetting TP Mazembe right-back Ibrahim Keïta, whose qualities we've seen both in the domestic league and on the continental stage. So we need to remain cautious against this team," he declared.
