DR Congo: goalkeeper a fiercely contested position for the Leopards

The DR Congo national football team have lost just twice since March 2023, in 17 official matches. Their only two defeats came against Ivory Coast in the semi-finals of the 2023 AFCON (0-1) and against Sudan (0-1) on matchday two of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Several big names in African football have failed to beat the Leopards in official matches since Sébastien Desabre took charge. Morocco, Senegal and Egypt, to name just those three heavyweights, did not manage to bring DR Congo down. These fine results owe a great deal to the goalkeepers. It is a position where DR Congo currently have contenders who inspire confidence in every match, hence the difficulty in having an undisputed first choice.

The big battle after Kidiaba

The last goalkeeper to be the Leopards' undisputed first choice for a long spell was Robert Kidiaba, who spent nearly 7 years as the starter between 2008 and 2015, winning a bronze medal at the 2015 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea.

After Kidiaba's international retirement, Joël Kiassumbua tried to hold things together for a few years as number 1 keeper without facing very strong competition.

But after a long spell without a club, before finding one in a lower division in Switzerland, Joël Kiassumbua lost his place in the DR Congo national team for good following an injury picked up before the match against Gabon on matchday five of the 2023 AFCON qualifiers.

His absence was filled by very capable goalkeepers who must now accept sharing the matches between them.

Leave your place and you lose it

In the DR Congo national team, it is best not to leave your spot vacant even for a moment, because there is no shortage of talent among the Leopards and they intend to seize every opportunity.

Lionel Mpasi did just that. Called up regularly to the national team, Lionel Mpasi had almost never started an official match for DR Congo. Taking advantage of Kiassumbua's injury, he was handed his first start against Gabon in Franceville, on the penultimate matchday of the 2023 AFCON qualifiers in June 2023.

Mpasi made the most of it and put in an impressive performance that won him the number 1 spot among the Leopards' goalkeepers. He kept it until the 2023 AFCON, which ended in February 2024.

In turn, Lionnel Mpasi was injured shortly after the AFCON. With him out for a good while, his usual understudy, Dimitri Bertaud, also took his chance. Already impressive in the 2023 AFCON third-place play-off against South Africa, Dimitri Bertaud made his second start against Senegal on matchday three of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and produced another convincing display.

He then kept three clean sheets, one against Togo on matchday four of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and two in the first two matchdays of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers, against Guinea and Ethiopia. In those last two matches, Dimitri Bertaud started despite Lionel Mpasi's return.

Desabre has no complaints

This wealth of high-performing goalkeepers in the DR Congo squad is a boon for Sébastien Desabre. The Leopards coach knows he can count on all his goalkeepers without worry, and is pleased with the quality and the competition currently at this position in his team. "The goalkeeper position is like that of the outfield players. Whether one keeper or another starts depends on his form and on what he can bring to the team. It is an overall assessment. We are lucky to have three good goalkeepers (Lionel Mpasi, Dimitri Bertaud and Timothy Fayulu) and we are preparing a fourth, Esdras Kabamba, who already has experience with the national team. We have grown in strength in that position and all the players know that places are hard to come by in the DR Congo national team," he said ahead of the match against Ethiopia.

It remains to be seen which goalkeeper will start during the October international break, when the Leopards face Tanzania in a double-header, on matchdays three and four of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers.