FIFA friendly: Democratic Republic of the Congo faces New Zealand in October

DR Congo Leopards have entered a new phase since the arrival of coach and technical director Sébastien Desabre at the head of the national technical staff and the appointment of the Standardization Committee of the Congolese Football Federation (Fécofa). After losing the friendly match (0 goals to 1) on 12 September in Johannesburg against Bafana Bafana of South Africa, the Congolese Wild Animals will play their next friendly match in October against the New Zealanders in Spain.

This was stated by the national team coordinator, Dodo Lando Domo, after the Congolese qualified for the final stage of the round of 34.^H The African Cup of Nations edition, with a clear victory over Sudan at the Martyrs’ Stadium in Kinshasa. After South Africa, New Zealand presents itself as a good sparring partner to measure the progress of the DRC.

In fact, New Zealanders have participated in two World Cup finals, notably in 1982 in Spain and in 2010 in South Africa. They have participated in 10 OFC Nations Cup finals, winning them in 1973, 1998, 2002, 2008 and 2016. They also reached the Confederations Cup finals four times, and they only stopped in the first round in 1999, 2003, 2009 and 2017. They also reached the quarterfinals at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. Therefore, coach Sebastien Desabre will use the FIFA friendly match scheduled for October to strengthen his group ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.