DR Congo coach Sebastien Desabre said on June 2 that his team is ready to play a friendly against Chile without spectators, after the mayor of La Linea de la Concepcion, Spain, canceled the match over Ebola fears. The game was scheduled for June 9.
Mayor Juan Franco signed a decree banning the match, calling it a "precautionary measure" following recommendations from the health authorities of Andalusia. Franco expressed concern about the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo, where a cluster of cases was confirmed in mid-May.
Speaking before a friendly against Denmark in Liege, Belgium, Desabre insisted the team still hopes the match with Chile will take place. "There are other stadiums, or the option of playing behind closed doors. There are many possibilities. I can only say that we are used to adapting," he said.
DR Congo is making its first World Cup appearance since 1974 (when it was known as Zaire). The team canceled its training camp at home due to the Ebola outbreak and is currently based in Belgium. Desabre said all necessary medical measures have been taken, including complying with FIFA regulations, with a medical team in close contact with the organization.
"All the players come from Europe. Local staff comply with travel deadlines, so the outbreak does not affect us on a daily basis," he stressed. Earlier, on May 22, US authorities demanded that the DR Congo squad undergo a 21-day quarantine before being allowed to enter the country for the 2026 World Cup (co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the US, running from June 11 to July 19).
At the World Cup, DR Congo is set to base itself in Houston, Texas, where it will face Portugal on June 17 (first match of Group K). The team will then travel to Guadalajara, Mexico, to face Colombia on June 24, before returning to the US to play Uzbekistan in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 28.
