Soccer-DR Congo to play final World Cup warm-up against Chile in Orleans

Soccer-DR Congo to play final World Cup warm-up against Chile in Orleans

The Star Online - Sport·2026-06-08 08:01

June 7 (Reuters) - The Democratic ⁠Republic of Congo’s final World Cup warm-up fixture against ⁠Chile will take place behind closed doors in ‌the French city of Orleans on Tuesday, a team spokesperson has confirmed.

The fixture had originally been scheduled for Cadiz in Spain, but the city’s mayor ​cancelled it due to concerns over ⁠the Ebola virus outbreak in ⁠the central African country.

The squad are preparing for the global ⁠finals ‌in the Spanish city of Marbella having completed a 10-day training camp in Belgium, where they played ⁠to a 0-0 draw with Denmark on Wednesday.

United ​States officials told ‌players and officials they needed to have been outside ⁠the DRC ​for 21 days and symptom free before they would be allowed to enter the country to participate in the World Cup.

None of ⁠the 26-player squad ply their trade ​in the DRC as most play for clubs in Europe, while a handful of officials have travelled from the country to ⁠be in camp. All individuals are compliant, according to team officials.

After Spain, the Congolese team will travel to their World Cup base in Houston on Thursday. They open their Group K ​campaign against Portugal six days later, ⁠before facing Colombia in Guadalajara on June 23 and Uzbekistan in ​Atlanta on June 27.

As of Saturday, ‌the number of confirmed Ebola ​cases in the country had increased to 488, including 86 deaths.

(Reporting by Nick Said; editing by Clare Fallon)

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