Congo national football team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Congo

Nickname(s)	Ba Diabulu ya Mbwaki (The Red Devils)
Association	Congolese Football Federation (FECOFOOT)
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	UNIFFAC (Central Africa)
Head coach	Isaac Ngata (Interim)
Captain	Amour Loussoukou
Most caps	Jonas Bahamboula Delvin N'Dinga (56)
Top scorer	Thievy Bifouma (16)
Home stadium	Stade ya mbanza Kintélé Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat
FIFA code	CGO
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	84 (7 February 2019)
Highest	42 (September 2015)
Lowest	144 (September 2011)
Elo ranking
Current	106 5 (3 March 2019)
Highest	37 (July 1972)
Lowest	133 (4 September 2011)
First international
French Congo 5–1 Cameroon (Middle Congo; 1954)
Biggest win
Congo 11–0 Chad  (Congo; 28 March 1964)  Congo 11–0 São Tomé and Príncipe  (Libreville, Gabon; 7 July 1976)
Biggest defeat
Malagasy Republic 8–1 Congo  (Antananarivo, Madagascar; 18 April 1960)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	7 (first in 1968)
Best result	Champions (1972)
Jordan International Tournament
Appearances	1 (first in 1992)
Best result	Fourth place (1992)

The Congo national football team represents the Republic of the Congo in men's association football. The team is managed by the Congolese Football Federation. They are often called Ba Diabulu ya Mbwaki, which means "The Red Devils".

Even though they have never played in the FIFA World Cup, the team won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1972. They also won the All-Africa Games football tournament in 1965. The team is a member of both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

History of the Congo Football Team

The Congo national football team played its first game in February 1960. It was a friendly match against the Ivory Coast, which they lost 4–2. In April 1960, they won their first game against Reunion with a score of 4–1. They then beat the Ivory Coast 3–2. However, they lost to Cameroon and Madagascar in later matches.

In April 1963, Congo played in another friendly competition in Senegal. They won against the Ivory Coast (3–2), their neighbor Democratic Republic of Congo (2–1), and Mauritania (11–0).

In July 1965, Congo hosted the 1965 All-Africa Games. They played against Mali, Uganda, and Togo. They reached the semi-finals and beat the Ivory Coast 1–0. In the final, they drew 0–0 with Mali but won the tournament because they had more corner kicks. This was a big win for the team!

Congo played their first non-African team on January 11, 1967, beating Romania 1–0. They then qualified for their first Africa Cup of Nations finals in 1968. The finals were held in Ethiopia. Congo lost all their group matches and were knocked out.

In 1972, Congo achieved their biggest success by winning the African Cup of Nations. They beat host Cameroon 1–0 in the semi-final. Then, they won the championship by defeating Mali 3–2. A famous player from that team was François M'Pelé, who later played for PSG.

In the qualifiers for the 1998 World Cup, Congo almost made it to the final tournament. They won home games against Zambia, DR Congo, and South Africa. However, they lost their last match 1–0 away to South Africa and were eliminated.

In February 2025, FIFA temporarily stopped Congo from playing in international competitions. This was due to issues with how the FECOFOOT (Congo's football governing body) was being run.

Recent Matches

Here are some of the recent match results for the Congo national football team.

      Win       Draw       Loss       Fixture

2024 Matches

Gabon  v  Congo

25 March Friendly	Gabon	1–1	Congo	Chambly, France
20:30	Lemina  42'		Ganvoula  73'	Stadium: Stade des Marais

Congo  v  Niger

6 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Congo	0–3 Awarded	Niger	Kinshasa, DR Congo
17:00 UTC+1				Stadium: Stade des Martyrs

Congo  v  Morocco

11 June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Congo	0–6	Morocco	Agadir, Morocco
17:00 UTC+1			Ounahi  8' Riad  16' El Kaabi  30', 39', 53' Rahimi  62'	Stadium: Adrar Stadium Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Daniel Nii Laryea (Ghana)

Congo  v  South Sudan

5 September 2024 (2024-09-05) 2025 AFCON qualification	Congo	1–0	South Sudan	Brazzaville, Congo
17:00 UTC+1	Massanga  12'			Stadium: Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat Referee: Celso Armindo Alvação (Mozambique)

Uganda  v  Congo

9 September 2024 (2024-09-09) 2025 AFCON qualification	Uganda	2–0	Congo	Kampala, Uganda
19:00 UTC+3	Kayondo  21' Ssemugabi  85'			Stadium: Mandela National Stadium Attendance: 38,000 Referee: Mehrez Malki (Tunisia)

South Africa  v  Congo

11 October 2024 (2024-10-11) 2025 AFCON qualification	South Africa	5–0	Congo	Gqeberha, South Africa
20:00 UTC+2	Mokoena  12', 27' Aubaas  37' Foster  52' Rayners  78'			Stadium: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium Referee: Dahane Beida (Mauritania)

Congo  v  South Africa

15 October 2024 (2024-10-15) 2025 AFCON qualification	Congo	1–1	South Africa	Brazzaville, Congo
17:00 UTC+1	Bassouamina  45+3'		Mokwana  33'	Stadium: Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat Referee: Mahmood Ali Mahmood Ismail (Sudan)

South Sudan  v  Congo

14 November 2024 (2024-11-14) 2025 AFCON qualification	South Sudan	3–2	Congo	Juba, South Sudan
14:00 UTC+2	Ezibon  31', 45+2'		Ibayi  26', 35'	Stadium: Juba Stadium Referee: Aklesso Gnama (Togo)

Congo  v  Uganda

19 November 2024 (2024-11-19) 2025 AFCON qualification	Congo	0–1	Uganda	Brazzaville, Congo
13:00 UTC+1			Mutyaba  55'	Stadium: Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Mohamed Maarouf Eid Mansour (Egypt)

2025 Matches

Tanzania  v  Congo

17 March 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Tanzania

3–0 Awarded

Congo

TBD, Tanzania

Congo  v  Zambia

24 March 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Congo

0–3 Awarded

Zambia

TBD, Congo

Congo  v  Tanzania

1 September 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Congo

v

Tanzania

TBD, Congo

Congo  v  Eritrea

8 September 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Congo

Canceled

Eritrea

TBD, Congo

Niger  v  Congo

6 October 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Niger

v

Congo

TBD, Niger

Morocco  v  Congo

13 October 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Morocco

v

Congo

TBD, Morocco

Team Coaches

The current head coach for the Congo national football team is Isaac Ngata. He works with a team of assistant coaches, a goalkeeping coach, and a fitness coach.

Position	Name
Head coach	Isaac Ngata
Assistant coaches	Moïse Mavundza Henri Nganga
Goalkeeping coach	Gérald Mbandaka
Fitness coach	Formose Kimbuta

Current Players

Here are the players who were recently called up for the Congo national football team.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Trey Vimalin	(2001-01-28) 28 January 2001 (age 24)	4	0	Fleury 91
	1GK	Marly Prince Heritier	(1999-04-10) 10 April 1999 (age 26)	1	0	Feronikeli 74
	1GK	Chelcy Bonazebi	(2006-05-18) 18 May 2006 (age 19)	0	0	CARA Brazzaville
	1GK	David Opoundja	(1998-04-03) 3 April 1998 (age 27)	0	0	Celeste
	2DF	Ryan Bidounga	(1997-04-29) 29 April 1997 (age 28)	10	0	CSKA 1948
	2DF	Bryan Passi	(1997-08-05) 5 August 1997 (age 27)	10	0	Mafra
	2DF	Morgan Poaty	(1997-07-15) 15 July 1997 (age 28)	10	0	Lausanne-Sport
	2DF	Ramaric Etou	(1995-05-25) 25 May 1995 (age 30)	7	0	Dila Gori
	2DF	Loïs Fauriel	(2002-07-17) 17 July 2002 (age 23)	3	0	Doxa Katokopias
	2DF	Christ Makosso	(2004-05-09) 9 May 2004 (age 21)	3	0	Sochaux
	2DF	Janard Berlohd Mbemba	(2002-03-06) 6 March 2002 (age 23)	3	0	Diables Noirs
	3MF	Harvy Ossété	(1999-08-18) 18 August 1999 (age 25)	31	0	Saint-Éloi Lupopo
	3MF	Merveil Ndockyt	(1998-07-20) 20 July 1998 (age 27)	27	1	Gorica
	3MF	Gaius Makouta	(1997-07-25) 25 July 1997 (age 28)	24	2	Boavista
	3MF	Fred Dembi	(1995-02-21) 21 February 1995 (age 30)	12	1	Red Star
	3MF	Chandrel Massanga	(1999-08-17) 17 August 1999 (age 25)	12	1	Hatayspor
	3MF	Nolan Mbemba	(1995-02-19) 19 February 1995 (age 30)	10	0	Grenoble
	3MF	Glid Otanga	(2000-08-14) 14 August 2000 (age 24)	1	0	Al Kharaitiyat
	4FW	Prestige Mboungou	(2000-07-10) 10 July 2000 (age 25)	31	2	TSC
	4FW	Silvère Ganvoula	(1996-06-29) 29 June 1996 (age 29)	24	6	Monza
	4FW	Mons Bassouamina	(1998-05-28) 28 May 1998 (age 27)	13	2	Pau
	4FW	Yann Mabella	(1996-02-22) 22 February 1996 (age 29)	8	0	RFCU Union
	4FW	Christopher Ibayi	(1995-07-18) 18 July 1995 (age 30)	3	2	Rouen
	4FW	Jason Bahamboula	(2001-06-15) 15 June 2001 (age 24)	2	0	HFX Wanderers
	4FW	Archange Bintsouka	(2002-10-25) 25 October 2002 (age 22)	2	0	Partizani
	4FW	Elie Andzouono	(2002-01-02) 2 January 2002 (age 23)	1	0	Diables Noirs
	4FW	Beni Namboka	unknown	1	0	Celeste

Team Records

These tables show the players with the most games played and the most goals scored for the Congo national team.

Most Games Played

Delvin N'Dinga is one of Congo's most experienced players, with 56 games.

Top Goal Scorers

Thievy Bifouma has scored the most goals for Congo with 16.

Competition History

Congo has played in many important football tournaments. Here's how they've done in some of them.

FIFA World Cup

Congo has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup.

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1958	Part of  France									Part of  France
as  Congo-Brazzaville
1962	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1966	Entry not accepted by FIFA									Entry not accepted by FIFA
as  People's Republic of the Congo
1970	Did not enter									Did not enter
1974	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	2	3
1978										4	1	1	2	7	8
1982	Did not enter									Did not enter
1986
1990
as  Republic of the Congo
1994	Did not qualify									4	0	0	4	0	5
1998										8	4	2	2	8	6
2002										10	3	2	5	10	17
2006										12	4	2	6	12	15
2010										6	3	0	3	7	8
2014										8	4	3	1	13	4
2018										8	2	2	4	11	16
2022										6	0	3	3	5	10
2026	Suspended									3	0	0	3	2	13
2030	To be determined									To be determined
2034
Total		0/15								71	21	16	34	77	105

Africa Cup of Nations

Congo won the Africa Cup of Nations once, in 1972.

Africa Cup of Nations record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1957	Part of  France
1959
Played as  Congo-Brazzaville
1962	Not affiliated to CAF
1963
1965
1968	Group stage	7th	3	0	0	3	2	8
Played as  People's Republic of the Congo
1970	Did not enter
1972	Winners	1st	5	3	1	1	9	5
1974	Fourth place	4th	5	2	1	2	7	10
1976	Did not qualify
1978	Group stage	7th	3	0	1	2	1	4
1980	Did not qualify
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990	Did not enter
Played as  Republic of the Congo
1992	Quarter-finals	5th	3	0	2	1	2	3
1994	Did not qualify
1996
1998
2000	Group stage	11th	3	0	2	1	0	1
2002	Did not qualify
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2013
2015	Quarter-finals	5th	4	2	1	1	6	6
2017	Did not qualify
2019
2021
2023
2025
2027	To be determined
2029
Total	1 Title	7/35	26	7	8	11	27	37

African Games

Congo won the gold medal in football at the African Games in 1965.

African Games record
Year	Result	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1965	Gold	5	3	1	1	11	5
1973	6th	3	1	0	2	5	8
Total	2/4	8	4	1	3	16	13

Team Achievements

The Congo national football team has won several important tournaments.

Continental Titles

• CAF African Cup of Nations
  • Champions (1): 1972
• African Games
  • Gold medal (1): 1965

Regional Titles

• CEMAC Cup
  • Champions (2): 2007, 2010
  • Runners-up (2): 2008, 2014
  • Third place (2): 2003, 2013
• UDEAC Championship
  • Champions (1): 1990
  • Runners-up (2): 1984, 1985
  • Third place (2): 1986, 1988
• Central African Games
  • Silver medal (2): 1976, 1981
  • Bronze medal (1): 1987

See also

In Spanish: Selección de fútbol del Congo para niños