RD Congo begin CAN 2027 qualifying against Equatorial Guinea after historic World Cup

The Democratic Republic of Congo return to competitive African football on Thursday when they host Equatorial Guinea at the Stade des Martyrs in the opening round of the CAN 2027 qualifiers.

The Confederation of African Football has yet to confirm whether the match will be played behind closed doors, with a limited crowd or in front of the 80,000 spectators requested by the RDC. The uncertainty follows the Stade des Martyrs’ late approval, less than 48 hours before kick-off.

The two sides are in Group E. After Thursday’s match, the Leopards travel to Zimbabwe on 28 September, while Equatorial Guinea host Sierra Leone on the same day.

RDC have just returned from a historic 2026 World Cup campaign, 52 years after their only previous appearance. They earned their first point in the competition in a 1-1 draw with Portugal, recorded their first win by beating Uzbekistan 3-1 and reached the last 16. Sebastien Desabre’s side led England for more than an hour before losing 2-1 late on, with Harry Kane scoring twice.

Their most recent match against an African opponent was the 0-1 extra-time defeat by Algeria in the last CAN’s last 16 in January. In their past eight competitive home matches, including CAN 2025 and 2026 World Cup qualifying, RDC have won six, although they have also lost to Senegal and Ethiopia.

Equatorial Guinea arrive in less convincing form. The Nzalang Nacional lost all three of their CAN group matches against Burkina Faso, Sudan and Algeria and have gone six competitive games without a win, losing five.

They lost two of three away matches in the previous CAN qualifying campaign but still reached the finals after finishing second behind Algeria and ahead of Togo and Liberia. In their latest friendlies, they beat Kyrgyzstan 1-0 and drew 1-1 with Madagascar in March, before losing 1-0 to Comoros in June.

The head-to-head record is level, with one win apiece and one draw. That draw came in the 2015 CAN third-place play-off, which RDC won 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw. It remains the teams’ most recent meeting.

Team news

Desabre has used the lengthy international break to experiment, naming 14 first-time call-ups across separate squads for the two CAN qualifiers and two October friendlies against Uganda.

Kevin Pedro (Saint-Etienne), Jordy Makengo (Fribourg), Willy Kambwala (Come) and Ezechiel Banzuzi (Leipzig) could make their debuts on Thursday. Noah Mbamba (Lorient) and Stanis Idumbo (Monaco) withdrew and were replaced by Aaron Tshibola (Kilmarnock) and Junior Kadile (Lens).

World Cup goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi is unavailable for several months through injury, allowing Dimitry Bertaud to return and local goalkeeper Nathan Ndibu (Les Aigles du Congo) to receive his first call-up. Cedric Bakambu is also absent after being left with his club following his late move to San Diego FC.

Equatorial Guinea are without long-serving players Iban “Edu” Salvador and Emilio Nsue, the leading scorer at CAN 2023. Omar Mascarell, Jose Elo, Jose Nabil Ondo and Luis Miguel Nlavo have also withdrawn, with Carlos Akapo, Federico Nguema, Alex Mansogo and Salomon Obama called up instead.

Probable teams:

RDC: Bertaud; Wan-Bissaka, Tuanzebe, Mbemba, Masuaku; Moutoussamy, Mukau, Sadiki; Mbuku, Wissa, Cipenga.

Equatorial Guinea: Owono; Akapo, Orozco, Coco, Mbomio; Ganet, Bulya, Machin; Obama, Zuniga, Makate.

RDC are clear favourites after their World Cup performance, while Equatorial Guinea’s competitive form is poor. The Leopards may need time to break down a stubborn opponent, but a home victory is expected.

RDC kept four clean sheets in six matches during their latest qualifying campaign and conceded only six goals in 10 World Cup qualifiers. Equatorial Guinea scored just five goals in six matches in their previous qualifying campaign. The Leopards therefore have a strong chance of keeping a clean sheet.