SOCCER: DR Congo president urges team on ahead of must-win World Cup clash

Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has urged his country's national team on in a passionate message ahead of their must-win World Cup clash against Uzbekistanin Atlanta.

"This encounter is not just a football match. It is a moment of national unity, a moment when an entire people will look in the same direction, with the same passion, the same hope, and the same love for the flag," Tshisekedi said on the presidency's X account on Saturday.

DR Congo have one point from two games in Group K, after a 1-1 draw with Portugal and a narrow defeat to Colombia, and must beat Uzbekistan to stay in the tournament. Uzbekistan have lost both of their games but could still advance with a win.

"This Saturday, June 27, 2026, in Atlanta, you will not be alone. Behind you, there will be more than 100 million Congolese people—our families, our youth, our elders, our provinces, our diaspora, our supporters, our soldiers, our workers, our children—all united behind you," Tshisekedi wrote.

"I therefore call on all the Congolese people to mobilize, in unity, passion, and responsibility, to carry our Leopards toward the victory we all hope for."

Progress to the knockout rounds for DR Congo might have seemed scarcely believable months ago when they entered the playoffs for the best four runners-up in the African preliminaries, having failed to qualify directly.

It is DR Congo's first appearance at a World Cup since 1974, when the country was known as Zaire.

(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)