DR Congo's Yoane Wissa says the conflict in their country is at the back of their minds every time they play at the World Cup.
Image: Xinhua via IANS
DR Congo’s long road to a first Fifa World Cup appearance in 52 years has been beset by challenges that their English opponents in the round of 32 on Wednesday could scarcely imagine.
Despite having to navigate 13 gruelling qualifiers, a pre-tournament quarantine due to an Ebola outbreak, and the structural instability caused by decades of conflict, the war-torn nation is firmly making its mark on the global stage.
"It's not easy in our country," said Yoane Wissa after his clinical two-goal haul secured his nation's first World Cup victory against Uzbekistan to setup a meeting with England, where the striker has played his club football for the past five years.
That is by no means the only English connection inside the squad. Aaron Wan-Bissaka was born in London and represented England up to under-21 level. Axel Tuanzebe also represented the Three Lions at youth level and could line up against his former schoolmate and Manchester United team-mate Marcus Rashford in Atlanta. Of the 26-man squad selected by the Leopards, 20 were born outside of Congo — the majority, like Wissa, in France.
The battle for the mineral-rich East Congo has sparked a decades-long conflict between a litany of armed groups, forcing thousands of families to flee and seek security across Europe.
"There's a war in East Congo. Every day, every time we wear this shirt, we think about them," Wissa added emotionally. "Because we want peace, and for them, I just say 'thank you'. Thank you because we came from far. We came from nothing to be here. Now we write our story with a black pen and we need to be proud."
The roots of this inspiring story on the field stem directly from that tragic backdrop. Sourcing and recruiting talented dual-national players has become a crucial strategy for smaller nations looking to punch above their weight in international football.
Wan-Bissaka was one of those who initially required some convincing. Signed by Manchester United for £50 million when he was just 21, DR Congo swooped to secure his allegiance when the senior England career he had imagined failed to materialise. But as the Leopards' star has risen on the global stage, elite players are becoming increasingly keen to join the Congolese cause.
Noah Sadiki represented Belgium at youth level and would almost certainly now be a mainstay for the Red Devils had the Sunderland midfielder not switched his international allegiance.
"There is a new generation that wants to help the people of the country," Sadiki told French sports newspaper L'Équipe.
Competing as Zaire in 1974, the country's only previous World Cup appearance ended in immense embarrassment, with 14 goals conceded across three consecutive defeats. Over half a century on, Congo's new generation have given an entire nation a reason to dream.
Even the recent outbreak of Ebola, which has tragically claimed more than 300 lives back home, had a severe impact on the team's World Cup preparations. The United States government imposed a strict 21-day isolation period on players arriving via Belgium before they were allowed entry into the country. Furthermore, their most famous supporter, Michel Nkuka Mboladinga, renowned for his statue-like pose honouring the country's first prime minister Patrice Lumumba, was cruelly denied a travel visa to the US.
But the resilient squad led by French tactician Sébastien Desabre has continuously defied the odds. Congo eliminated African powerhouses Cameroon and Nigeria during a brutal qualifying campaign, before sealing their tournament place with an emphatic victory over Jamaica in an inter-continental play-off back in March.
Desabre's men then thwarted Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal as Wissa's towering header secured a memorable 1-1 draw in their opening World Cup group fixture. A narrow 1-0 defeat to Colombia meant they realistically had to beat Uzbekistan to reach the knockout stages for the first time in their history. Roared on by thousands of passionate fans from the Congolese diaspora in the stands, Wissa proved to be the hero once more in a commanding 3-1 win.
The ultimate challenge of facing England, one of the outright favourites for the competition, now awaits them. But this courageous Congo side are highly unlikely to be overawed, given the monumental hurdles they have already scaled just to get to this stage.
AFP