Italy repechage to World Cup, Congo's announcement freezes the Azzurri

The Democratic Republic of Congo will regularly participate in the 2026 World Cup despite the recent emergency related to the Ebola epidemic in the country. This was confirmed by the Congolese Football Federation (FECOFA) at the end of a meeting between President Véron Mosengo-Omba and FIFA representatives.

After the cancellation of the planned retreat in the capital Kinshasa, the national team moved its preparation to Belgium, taking all the sanitary measures required by the protocol imposed by the U.S. authorities. FECOFA also pointed out that almost all of the players summoned, along with most of the technical staff, live and play in Europe, thus reducing the risk of contagion to virtually zero.

As for the staff members who arrived from Kinshasa, the federation specified that they left Congo on May 20 and will remain in Europe for at least 21 days before being allowed to enter the United States.

During the meeting with FIFA, the issue of Congolese fans who have purchased tickets to national team matches but have not been granted visas due to U.S. administrative restrictions was also addressed. FIFA reportedly assured that it was willing to consider possible refunds for the supporters involved. In recent days, the possibility of a repechage, which Italy could also take advantage of, had come back into the news.