Congo national football team
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The Congo national football team (Template:Langx) represents the Republic of the Congo in men's association football and is governed by the Congolese Football Federation. They have never qualified for the World Cup, but did win the Africa Cup of Nations in 1972. They also won the All-Africa Games football tournament in 1965. The team is also a member of both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
History
The Congo national football team made its first ever appearance in February 1960 in a friendly against the Ivory Coast which they lost 4–2.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On 13 April, they defeated Reunion 4–1 in their first game to advance to the quarter-finals. In their quarter-final on 15 April, they defeated the Ivory Coast 3–2. On 17 April, they lost 5–4 to Cameroon and were beaten 8–1 by the host Madagascar in the third-place play-off on 19 April.
In April 1963 they entered another L'Amitié competition, this time in Senegal, and were drawn in a group with Tunisia, the Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mauritania. They lost their opener 2–0 to Tunisia on 13 April but beat the Ivory Coast 3–2 the next day. On 15 April they beat their neighbour Congo Kinshasa 2–1, and then Mauritania 11–0 two days later, but did not advance to the next round.
In July 1965 the Congo held the 1965 All-Africa Games and were drawn in a group with Mali, Uganda and Togo. They drew 1–1 with Mali on 18 July and beat Uganda 2–1 the next day. On 21 July they drew 1–1 against Togo but advanced through to the semi-finals, where they beat the Ivory Coast 1–0 on 23 July. On 25 July the Congo drew 0–0 versus Mali in the final, but won the tournament by having won ten corners in the final compared to Mali's one.
On 11 January 1967 the Congo played their first non-African opposition, defeating Romania 1–0 in a home friendly. On 19 February 1967 the Congo travelled to Tunisia for their first ever African Cup of Nations qualifier, drawing 1–1. On 2 August 1967 they hosted a qualifier against Cameroon, and defeated them 2–1 to top their qualifying group and advance to their first finals.
The finals were held in Ethiopia in January 1968 and the Congo were drawn in a group with their neighbour Zaire, Senegal and Ghana. They lost the opener to Zaire 3–0 on 12 January and two days later lost 2–1 to Senegal. On 16 January the Congo were defeated 3–1 by Ghana and were knocked out.
The Congo hosted a friendly against Romania for the second successive year on 16 June 1968 and won 4–2. On 30 July 1968 they played their first ever South American opposition, losing a home friendly 2–0 to Brazil.
In 1972, the Congo won their only African Cup of Nations title. Congo defeated host Cameroon in the semi-final 1–0 before beating Mali 3–2 to claim the championship. On that squad was arguably Congo's most famous player, François M'Pelé, who starred for PSG in the 1970s.
In qualification for the 1998 World Cup, the Congo came within a win of qualifying for the final tournament. However, after home wins over Zambia, DR Congo and South Africa, Congo lost their final match 1–0 away to South Africa and was eliminated.
In February 2025 Congo was suspended from international competitions by FIFA due to "third-party interference" in FECOFOOT - Congolese football's governing body.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Results and fixtures
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
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2024
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2025
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Coaching staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Template:Flagicon Fabrizio Cesana |
| Assistant coaches | Template:Flagicon Moïse Mavundza Template:Flagicon Henri Nganga |
| Goalkeeping coach | Template:Flagicon Gérald Mbandaka |
| Fitness coach | Template:Flagicon Formose Kimbuta |
| Match analyst | Template:Flagicon François Mpanga |
| Doctors | Template:Flagicon Dr. Stéphane Mavungu Template:Flagicon Dr. Gervais Tchibinda |
| Physiotherapists | Template:Flagicon Aurélien Kimpembe Template:Flagicon Maurice Mvoungou Template:Flagicon Loïc Kimbela Template:Flagicon Jérôme Tchuka |
| Team coordinator | Template:Flagicon Hervé Ngolo |
| Technical director | Template:Flagicon Maxime Nzassi |
Coaching history
Players
Current squad
The following players were called-up for the 2025 AFCON qualification matches against South Sudan and Uganda on 14 and 19 November 2024 respectively.Template:Cn
Caps and goals are correct as of 19 November 2024, after the match against Uganda
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Recent call-ups
The following players were called up for Congo in the last 12 months. Template:Nat fs r start Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs break Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs break Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs break Template:Nat fs r player Template:Nat fs break
- DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up.
- INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
- PRE Preliminary squad.
- RET Player has retired from international football.
- SUS Suspended from the national team.
Records
Template:Updated<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Players in bold are still active with Congo.
Most appearances
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| Rank | Player | Caps | Goals | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonas Bahamboula | 56 | 13 | 1969–1982 |
| Delvin N'Dinga | 56 | 1 | 2008–2021 | |
| 3 | Destin Makita | 55 | 1 | 2001–2013 |
| 4 | Barel Mouko | 51 | 1 | 2004–2018 |
| 5 | Magnoléké Bissiki | 45 | 0 | 2012–2021 |
| 6 | Oscar Ewolo | 44 | 2 | 2000–2013 |
| 7 | Prince Oniangué | 43 | 8 | 2008–2019 |
| 8 | Thievy Bifouma | 41 | 16 | 2014–present |
| Francis N'Ganga | 41 | 3 | 2008–2017 | |
| 10 | Christoffer Mafoumbi | 38 | 0 | 2012–present |
| Brice Samba | 38 | 0 | 1990–2001 |
Top goalscorers
.JPG)
| Rank | Player | Goals | Caps | Ratio | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thievy Bifouma | 16 | 41 | {{#expr:16/41 round 2}} | 2014–present |
| 2 | Jonas Bahamboula | 13 | 56 | {{#expr:13/56 round 2}} | 1969–1982 |
| 3 | François M'Pelé | 12 | 29 | {{#expr:12/29 round 2}} | 1971–1978 |
| 4 | Paul Moukila | 11 | 31 | {{#expr:11/31 round 2}} | 1970–1978 |
| 5 | Anges Ngapy | 10 | 33 | {{#expr:10/33 round 2}} | 1984–1993 |
| Férébory Doré | 10 | 37 | {{#expr:10/37 round 2}} | 2010–2017 | |
| 7 | Jean-Jacques N'Domba | 8 | 35 | {{#expr:8/35 round 2}} | 1974–1992 |
| Prince Oniangué | 8 | 43 | {{#expr:8/43 round 2}} | 2008–2019 | |
| 9 | Kader Bidimbou | 5 | 13 | {{#expr:5/13 round 2}} | 2014–2023 |
| Guy Mbenza | 5 | 21 | {{#expr:5/21 round 2}} | 2017–present | |
| Rolf-Christel Guié-Mien | 5 | 25 | {{#expr:5/25 round 2}} | 1996–2008 | |
| Hardy Binguila | 5 | 29 | {{#expr:5/29 round 2}} | 2013–2023 | |
| Silvère Ganvoula | 5 | 29 | {{#expr:5/29 round 2}} | 2014–present | |
| Fabrice Ondama | 5 | 37 | {{#expr:5/37 round 2}} | 2006–2017 |
Competition records
FIFA World Cup
Africa Cup of Nations
African Games
Template:See also Template:See also
| African Games record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| Template:Flagicon 1965 | Gold | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 5 | |
| Template:Flagicon 1973 | 6th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | |
| Total | 2/4 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 13 | |
Honours
Continental
- CAF African Cup of Nations
Champions (1): 1972
- African Games1
Gold medal (1): 1965
Regional
- CEMAC Cup
- Template:Gold1 Champions (2): 2007, 2010
- Template:Silver2 Runners-up (2): 2008, 2014
- Template:Bronze3 Third place (2): 2003, 2013
- UDEAC Championship
- Template:Gold1 Champions (1): 1990
- Template:Silver2 Runners-up (2): 1984, 1985
- Template:Bronze3 Third place (2): 1986, 1988
- Central African Games
- Template:Silver2 Silver medal (2): 1976, 1981
- Template:Bronze3 Bronze medal (1): 1987
Summary
| Competition | Template:Gold1 | Template:Silver2 | Template:Bronze3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAF African Cup of Nations | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
- Notes
- Competition organized by ANOCA, officially not recognized by FIFA.
Notes
References
External links
Template:Africa Cup of Nations Winners Template:Congo national football team Template:Navboxes Template:Football in the Republic of the Congo {{#invoke:navbox|navbox | name = CAF teams | title = National football teams of Africa (CAF) |listclass = hlist |group1 = North Africa (UNAF) |list1 =
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|group3 = East Africa (CECAFA) |list3 =
|group4 = Central Africa (UNIFFAC) |list4 =
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- Zimbabwe
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|below= 1 Regional team, an associate member of CAF but not a member of FIFA
{{#invoke:portal-inline|main|size=tiny|Football in Africa}} }} Template:National sports teams of the Republic of the Congo