Congo national football team

Congo
Nickname(s)	Les Diables Rouges ; (The Red Devils)
Association	Fédération Congolaise de Football (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 Municipal de Kintélé; Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat
FIFA code	CGO
FIFA ranking
Current	111 1 (4 April 2024)[1]
Highest	42 (September 2015)
Lowest	144 (September 2011)
First international
	French Congo 5–1 Cameroon ; (Middle Congo; 1954)[2]
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 (French: Équipe de football du Congo) 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.[3] 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.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Win Draw Loss Fixture

2023

27 March 2023 AFCON qualification	South Sudan	0–1	Congo	Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
16:00 UTC+3		Report	Charpentier 90'	Stadium: National Stadium Referee: Joseph Odey Ogabor (Nigeria)

18 June 2023 AFCON qualification	Congo	0–2	Mali	Brazzaville, Congo
17:00 UTC+1		Report	Koné 62' Dorgeles 73'	Stadium: Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat Referee: Samir Guezzaz (Morocco)

10 September 2023 AFCON qualification	Gambia	2–2	Congo	Marrakesh, Morocco
20:00 UTC+1	Minteh 79' Badamosi 90'	Report	Makouta 30' Ganvoula 45+1' (pen.)	Stadium: Stade de Marrakech Referee: Mohamed Maarouf Eid Mansour (Egypt)

17 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Zambia	4–2	Congo	Ndola, Zambia
18:00 UTC+2	Daka 5', 90+2' Banda 43' F. Sakala 69'	Report	Ganvoula 13' Bassouamina 15'	Stadium: Levy Mwanawasa Stadium Referee: Mahmoud El Banna (Egypt)

2024

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

June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Congo

v

Niger

TBD, Congo

June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Congo

v

Morocco

TBD, Congo

2025

March 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Tanzania

v

Congo

TBD, Tanzania

March 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Congo

v

Zambia

TBD, Congo

September 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Congo

v

Tanzania

TBD, Congo

September 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Congo

v

Eritrea

TBD, Congo

October 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Niger

v

Congo

TBD, Niger

October 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Morocco

v

Congo

TBD, Morocco

Coaches

Paul Ebondzibato (1962–1964)
Vasily Sokolov (1964–1965)
Paul Ebondzibato (1965–1970)
Adolphe Bibanzoulou (1970–1973)
Robert Ndoudi (1973–1974)
Cicerone Manolache (1974–1976)
Zoran Ristić (1984)
Yvon Goujon (1986–1987)
Noël Minga (1992–1993)
David Mémy (1997–1998)
Alain Nestor Ngouinda (1998–1999)
David Mémy (1999–2000)
Camille Ngakosso (2000)
Gaston Tchangana (2001)
Noël Minga (2001)
Eugen Moldovan (2001–2002)
Alain Nestor Ngouinda (2002)
Claude Andrey (2002–2003)
Tahseen Jabbary (2002–2003)
Jean-Paul Bernard (2003)
Michel Hidalgo (2004)
Christian Létard (2004–2005)
Gaston Tchangana (2005–2006)
Noël Tosi (2006–2007)
Gaston Tchangana (2007–2008)
Ivica Todorov (2008–2010)
Robert Corfou (2010–2011)
Camille Ngakosso (2011)
Jean-Guy Wallemme (2011–2012)
Kamel Djabour (2012–13)
Claude Le Roy (2013–15)
Pierre Lechantre (2016)
Barthélémy Ngatsono (2016–17)
Sébastien Migné (2017–18)
Valdo Filho (2018–2021)
Paul Put (2021–2023)
Isaac Ngata (2023-present)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called-up for the friendly match against Gabon on 26 March 2024.[4]

Caps and goals are correct as of 26 March 2024, after the match against Gabon.[5]

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1GK	Trey Vimalin	(2001-01-28) 28 January 2001	1	0	Fleury 91
1GK	Melvin Douniama	(2003-02-26) 26 February 2003	0	0	Paris FC Youth
1GK	Owen-Césaire Matimbou	(2002-06-19) 19 June 2002	1	0	Orleans

2DF	Ravy Tsouka	(1994-12-23) 23 December 1994	19	0	AEL Limassol
2DF	Yhoan Andzouana	(1996-12-13) 13 December 1996	9	0	DAC Dunajská Streda
2DF	Bryan Passi	(1997-08-05) 5 August 1997	5	0	Hapoel Tel Aviv
2DF	Vladis-Emmerson Illoy-Ayyet	(1995-10-07) 7 October 1995	3	1	Ural Yekaterinburg
2DF	Loick Ayina	(2003-04-20) 20 April 2003	0	0	Ross County
2DF	Erving Botaka	(1998-11-05) 5 November 1998	0	0	Arsenal Tula
2DF	Christ Makosso	(2004-05-09) 9 May 2004	1	0	Sochaux
2DF	Brayann Pereira	(2003-05-21) 21 May 2003	0	0	NEC

3MF	Gaius Makouta	(1997-07-25) 25 July 1997	19	2	Boavista
3MF	Antoine Makoumbou	(1998-07-18) 18 July 1998	17	1	Cagliari
3MF	Dylan Bahamboula	(1995-05-22) 22 May 1995	12	0	Busaiteen Club
3MF	Chandrel Massanga	(1999-08-17) 17 August 1999	9	0	Hatayspor
3MF	Fred Dembi	(1995-02-21) 21 February 1995	7	1	Red Star
3MF	Will Hondermarck	(2000-11-21) 21 November 2000	0	0	Northampton
3MF	Rabby Nzingoula	(2005-11-25) 25 November 2005	0	0	Strasbourg

4FW	Silvère Ganvoula	(1996-06-29) 29 June 1996	17	6	Young Boys
4FW	Mons Bassouamina	(1998-05-28) 28 May 1998	6	1	Pau
4FW	Gabriel Charpentier	(1999-05-17) 17 May 1999	3	1	Parma
4FW	Jason Bahamboula	(2001-06-15) 15 June 2001	0	0	Valmiera
4FW	Archange Bintsouka	(2002-10-25) 25 October 2002	0	0	Partizani
4FW	Christopher Ibayi	(1995-07-18) 18 July 1995	0	0	Rouen
4FW	Alain Ipiélé	(1997-08-20) 20 August 1997	0	0	Dunkerque

Recent call-ups

The following players were called up for Congo in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Wolfrigon Mongondza	(1990-04-08) 8 April 1990	3	0	Diables Noirs	v. Zambia, 17 November 2023
GK	Pavelh Ndzila	(1995-01-12) 12 January 1995	19	0	APR	v. Gambia, 10 September 2023
GK	Giscard Mavoungou	(1999-11-30) 30 November 1999	0	0	Otôho	v. Gambia, 10 September 2023
GK	Chris Guelor Bissila	(2003-12-10) 10 December 2003	0	0	Diables Noirs	v. Mali, 18 June 2023
GK	Chill Ngakosso	(1994-07-26) 26 July 1994	0	0	ACNFF	v. Mali, 18 June 2023
GK	Christoffer Mafoumbi	(1994-03-03) 3 March 1994	37	0	Differdange	v. Mali, 18 June 2023 ^PRE

DF	Julfin Ondongo	(1997-03-28) 28 March 1997	11	0	Almurooj	v. Zambia, 17 November 2023
DF	Bradley Mazikou	(1996-06-02) 2 June 1996	9	0	Servette	v. Zambia, 17 November 2023
DF	Morgan Poaty	(1997-07-15) 15 July 1997	5	0	Lausanne-Sport	v. Zambia, 17 November 2023
DF	Ryan Bidounga	(1997-04-29) 29 April 1997	6	0	FC CSKA 1948 Sofia	v. Gambia, 10 September 2023
DF	Francis Nzaba	(2002-07-17) 17 July 2002	3	0	Dinamo Tbilisi	v. Gambia, 10 September 2023
DF	Faria Jobel Ondongo	(1996-06-19) 19 June 1996	3	0	Otôho	v. Gambia, 10 September 2023
DF	Messie Biatoumoussoka	(1998-06-05) 5 June 1998	2	0	AS FAR	v. Gambia, 10 September 2023
DF	Varel Rozan	(1999-09-09) 9 September 1999	21	0	Vita Club	v. Mali, 18 June 2023
DF	Raddy Ovouka	(1999-12-07) 7 December 1999	9	0	Drita	v. Mali, 18 June 2023
DF	Ramaric Etou	(1995-01-25) 25 January 1995	4	0	Dila Gori	v. Mali, 18 June 2023
DF	Roussel Ngoulou M'Bani	(2003-08-16) 16 August 2003	0	0	Étoile du Congo	v. Mali, 18 June 2023

MF	Prestige Mboungou	(2000-07-10) 10 July 2000	25	2	Ajman	v. Zambia, 17 November 2023
MF	Thievy Bifouma	(1992-05-13) 13 May 1992	41	16	A.E. Kifisia	v. Zambia, 17 November 2023 ^INJ
MF	Merveil Ndockyt	(1998-07-20) 20 July 1998	21	1	HNK Gorica	v. Zambia, 17 November 2023 ^INJ
MF	Harvy Ossété	(1999-08-18) 18 August 1999	28	0	Saint-Éloi	v. Gambia, 10 September 2023
MF	Warren Tchimbembé	(1998-04-21) 21 April 1998	2	0	Guingamp	v. Gambia, 10 September 2023
MF	Nsana Simon	(2000-03-11) 11 March 2000	0	0	NK Bravo	v. Mali, 18 June 2023

FW	Domi Massoumou	(2003-06-04) 4 June 2003	1	0	Diables Noirs	v. Zambia, 17 November 2023
FW	Béni Makouana	(1999-09-28) 28 September 1999	13	0	Polissya Zhytomyr	v. Zambia, 17 November 2023 ^INJ
FW	Guy Mbenza	(2000-04-01) 1 April 2000	21	5	Muaither SC	v. Gambia, 10 September 2023
FW	Mavis Tchibota	(1996-05-07) 7 May 1996	10	0	Hapoel Tel Aviv	v. Gambia, 10 September 2023
FW	Prince Ibara	(1996-02-07) 7 February 1996	16	4	Becamex Binh Duong	v. Mali, 18 June 2023
FW	Chance Mondzenga	(2001-05-10) 10 May 2001	1	0	Métlaoui	v. Mali, 18 June 2023
FW	Christ Toulouenga	(2005-08-24) 24 August 2005	1	0	Diables Noirs	v. Mali, 18 June 2023
FW	Bevic Moussiti-Oko	(1995-01-28) 28 January 1995	7	0	Ajaccio	v. Mali, 18 June 2023 ^INJ
^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

As of 17 November 2023[6]

Players in bold are still active with Congo.

Most appearances

Delvin N'Dinga is Congo's joint-most capped player with 56 appearances.

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Jonas Bahamboula	56	13	1969–1982
1	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
8	Francis N'Ganga	41	3	2008–2017
10	Brice Samba	38	0	1990–2001

Top goalscorers

Thievy Bifouma is Congo's top scorer with 16 goals.

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Thievy Bifouma	16	41	0.39	2014–present
2	Jonas Bahamboula	13	56	0.23	1969–1982
3	François M'Pelé	12	29	0.41	1971–1978
4	Paul Moukila	11	31	0.35	1970–1978
5	Anges Ngapy	10	33	0.3	1984–1993
5	Férébory Doré	10	37	0.27	2010–2017
7	Jean-Jacques N'Domba	8	35	0.23	1974–1992
7	Prince Oniangué	8	43	0.19	2008–2019
9	Kader Bidimbou	5	13	0.38	2014–present
	Silvère Ganvoula	5	20	0.25	2014–present
	Guy Mbenza	5	21	0.24	2017–present
	Hardy Binguila	5	25	0.2	2013–present
	Rolf-Christel Guié-Mien	5	25	0.2	1996–2008
	Fabrice Ondama	5	37	0.14	2006–2017

Competition records

FIFA World Cup record

FIFA World Cup									Qualification
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	F	A	Pld	W	D	L	F	A
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	3	2
1978	Did not qualify								4	1	1	2	10	5
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	To be determined								1	0	0	1	2	4
2030									To be determined
2034									To be determined
Total		0/15							69	21	16	32	81	92

Africa Cup of Nations record

Africa Cup of Nations record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1957	Part of France
1959	Part of France
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	to be determined
2027	to be determined
Total	1 Title	7/34	26	7	8	11	27	37

African Games

African Games record
Year	Result	M	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

Achievements

Africa Cup of Nations

Winners: 1972

Football at the African Games

Gold medalists: 1965

CEMAC Cup:

Winners: 2007

UDEAC Championship:

Winners: 1990

References

"The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
"World Football Elo Ratings". www.eloratings.net. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
"Congo (Brazzaville) - List of International Matches". RSSSF. Rec. Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation. 23 December 2013. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
"Fédération Congolaise de Football Officiel: Liste des Diables Rouges". www.facebook.com.
"Gabon vs. Congo".
Mamrud, Roberto. "Congo-Brazzaville – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 March 2018.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[FIFA_World_Rankings-1] "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.

[2] "World Football Elo Ratings". www.eloratings.net. Retrieved 6 April 2023.

[3] "Congo (Brazzaville) - List of International Matches". RSSSF. Rec. Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation. 23 December 2013. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2014.

[4] "Fédération Congolaise de Football Officiel: Liste des Diables Rouges". www.facebook.com.

[5] "Gabon vs. Congo".

[6] Mamrud, Roberto. "Congo-Brazzaville – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 March 2018.

Congo national football team
General	Congolese Football Federation History Managers Players Results 2020–present
Stadium	Stade Municipal de Kintélé
Africa Cup of Nations	Summary 1968 1972 1974 1978 1990 1992 2000 2015
Noted matches	1972 African Cup of Nations final
Other FECOFOOT teams	U-20 U-17 Women's

National and regional football teams of Africa (CAF)
North Africa (UNAF)	Algeria Egypt Libya Morocco Tunisia
West Africa (WAFU)	Benin Burkina Faso Cape Verde Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Liberia Mali Mauritania Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Togo
East Africa (CECAFA)	Burundi Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Somalia South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zanzibar¹
Central Africa (UNIFFAC)	Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo DR Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon São Tomé and Príncipe
Southern Africa (COSAFA)	Angola Botswana Comoros Eswatini Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Seychelles South Africa Zambia Zimbabwe
Non-regional Members	Réunion¹
¹ Regional team, an associate member of CAF but not a member of FIFA Football in Africa portal

National sports teams of the Republic of the Congo
Badminton Basketball M M U/18 M U/16 W Football M M U/20 M U/17 W Handball M W Rugby union Tennis M W Volleyball
Olympics Paralympics