South Sudan to play DR. Congo in World Cup Qualifier
By Denis Ejulu
South Sudan is set to host Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Friday in the second leg of the Group B, 2026 FIFA World Cup –CAN qualification.
The two teams met in the first leg on March 21, in Kinshasa, with South Sudan losing 1-0 to DRC.
Nicholas Dupuis, coach of the South Sudanese national football team bemoaned the narrow loss to their opponents in Kinshasa, and promised that his team will put up a fight tomorrow when the two teams take to the pitch at the Juba National Stadium in the capital of South Sudan.
“It is a very important game for our team because for us DRC is one of the six best teams in Africa, so we are very proud to play against such professional players,” Dupuis said at a press conference.
“We have a young team full of local players but they have a very good spirit and during training, it is a pleasure to always be with them. We have very good players and we are going to fight,” he disclosed.
DR. Congo tops Group B with 13 points after 6 games, followed by Senegal and Sudan which are tied on 12 points and South Sudan ranks second bottom with three points.
Dupuis emphasized that his team has worked a lot in preparation for the match, adding that he is optimistic of getting a good result against their opponents who boast a star studded squad, with majority of players plying their trade in Europe.
Meanwhile, Sabastien Desabre the coach of the Congolese national football team said that a win against South Sudan could boost their World Cup qualification chances.
“It is an important game for us, because we are on the way to qualification but we are taking it game by game. We are focused on this game for qualification,” Desabre said.
He urged his players to be focused on the remaining four games in order to book their ticket to the 2026 World Cup tournament, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
“We are not focused about another team, we know that if we will win four games we will go to the World Cup,” Desabre said.
Group B contains Senegal, DR Congo, Mauritania, Togo, Sudan and South Sudan.
The group winner will directly qualify for the World Cup, and the runner up could potentially compete in the second round to advance to the inter-confederation playoff.
