The Democratic Republic of the Congo national team includes new European talents, and the Barcelona coach warns his players

The Democratic Republic of the Congo's success at this year's FIFA World Cup has resulted in the addition of a host of European-born players to its squad; Team coach Sebastien Desabre seeks to expand the player base and build on reaching the round of 32 in the finals held in North America.

Later this month, the Democratic Republic of the Congo will play its first match since the World Cup when the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers begin, after being just 15 minutes away from pulling off a resounding upset against England in Atlanta.

Six new players from European clubs joined the squad to face Equatorial Guinea in Kinshasa on September 24, and then to face Zimbabwe in Harare four days later.

The list saw the summoning of Willy Kambwala, the former Manchester United defender and current player for the Italian Como, along with Ezequiel Panzozi (Leipzig), Stanis Idumbo (Monaco), Jordi Makingo (Freiburg), Noah Bamba (Lorient), and Kevin Pedro (Saint-Etienne).

Panzozi, Idombo, Mbamba and Pedro represented the junior national teams of the Netherlands, Belgium and France, respectively, and will need the approval of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) to change their sporting nationality.

The FIFA sports nationality change platform reveals that none of the four players has obtained FIFA approval yet.

In the past, the Democratic Republic of the Congo included players in its squad without obtaining their approval, or officially completing the procedures for changing sports nationality.

However, Desabre has conducted extensive networking tours in Europe in recent months, seeking to persuade players of Congolese origin to commit to playing for the African country.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo skipped the group stage in the World Cup for the first time in its history during this year's edition, which was hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Panzozi announced on social media this week that he had switched to playing for the Democratic Republic of the Congo national team after playing for the Netherlands U-21 national team, where he was born, and published a picture of himself holding a Congolese national team shirt.

Desabre plans to use the two friendly matches against Uganda on October 2 and 5 to try to convince more players to join, in the hope of building a strong squad less than one year before the Africa Cup of Nations finals scheduled in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda next June.

For the two matches against Uganda, six other new players from European clubs were invited, including the youngster Jorthy Mukio of Ajax Amsterdam, who played for Belgium last year, and the England Under-20 national team duo, Paris Maghoma and Stevie Mvedidi, who play in the English second division.

The list also includes Anthony Musaba, a former Netherlands U-21 player and current player for Norwich City in the English second division.

Mukio expressed earlier this year his desire to play for Congo, but his participation with Belgium in the European Nations League in March 2025 requires him to wait for 3 years.

Players under the age of 21, who have not played more than 3 official matches with the first team, have the right to change their sporting nationality, but with a waiting period of 3 years.

The two matches against Uganda are not classified as official competitions. This gives Mukio an opportunity to begin integrating with the team, even if his official appearance will not take place until 18 months later.

Barcelona's German coach, Hansi Flick, warned his players on Saturday that any decline in concentration could bring them back to reality after an amazing start to the season.

The defending Spanish League champion won all five of its matches in various competitions, scoring 22 goals and conceding three, before visiting Levante on Sunday in the fifth round of “La Liga”.

Flick told reporters: “We know that things in football can change very quickly. “I like that we are enjoying the situation (right now).”

He added: “If we change any of this mentality, we will move in the wrong direction, and this is what we do not want.”

Barcelona's attacking stars, including Brazilian Rafinha and Lamine Jamal, have excelled in recent weeks, scoring 5 goals against Dutch Feyenoord in the Champions League, in addition to goals against Rayo Vallecano, Valencia and Elche in the league.

Flick continued: “We are very happy that we are playing at this level, but we know that we have to continue to prove that in every match.”

He added: “We know that we have great quality, but we (also) do things that are important to us, when we maintain high pressure, and are focused and active.”

The main goal of the Blaugrana this season is to win the Champions League, which it last achieved in 2015, but Flick confirmed that President Joan Laporta is also keen on winning the league title for the third time in a row.

He added: “I spoke with the fans, and with the people in Barcelona, ​​this year we have to win the Champions League, and of course this is a dream for us, and our goal is to win it.”

He continued: “The president said that the Spanish League is also important, and winning it three times in a row would be wonderful.”