DR Congo's last warm-up match before the World Cup will be played behind closed doors in Orleans, France, on Tuesday June 7, after the original venue in Cadiz, Spain, was cancelled due to Ebola concerns by the local mayor [1, 2, 3].
The team recently completed a 10-day training camp in Belgium, including a 0-0 draw against Denmark on Wednesday before June 7 [1, 2, 3]. The squad is currently training in Marbella, Spain, ahead of the World Cup global finals [1, 2, 3].
US officials require all DR Congo players and officials to have been outside the country for at least 21 days and symptom-free before entering the US for the tournament [1, 2, 3]. None of the 26-player DR Congo squad currently plays for clubs inside the country, with most players based in Europe [1, 3]. Some team officials recently traveled from DR Congo and are compliant with health protocols [1, 2, 3].
The Ebola outbreak in eastern DR Congo involves a rare strain called Bundibugyo, which currently has no vaccine. The World Health Organization has said it could take up to nine months before a vaccine is ready [2]. As of Saturday before June 7, DR Congo had 488 confirmed Ebola cases including 86 deaths [1, 3].
After their warm-up match in Orleans, the DR Congo team will travel to Houston, Texas, on Thursday June 9, which will serve as their World Cup base [1, 3]. DR Congo opens its Group K campaign against Portugal on June 17 in Houston, then faces Colombia on June 23 in Guadalajara, Mexico, and Uzbekistan on June 27 in Atlanta, Georgia [1, 2, 3].
BBC Sport recalled that this is DR Congo’s first World Cup qualification since 1974, when the team competed as Zaire and lost all group matches to Scotland, Brazil, and Yugoslavia [2].
