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In the 7th minute of the match, when Brian Sipenga poked the ball into England's goal, no one expected the score to stay that way for so long.
In the 7th minute of the match, when Brian Sippinga poked the ball into England's net, no one thought the score would hold for so long.
July 1, 2026, Atlanta. The knockout stage of the World Cup's 32 teams.
From that goal, the Democratic Republic of Congo led the Three Lions on the scoreboard for a full 68 minutes. Possession: 40%. Shots on target: 2. Their opponent was England, with a total squad value of €1.36 billion; the DRC's entire squad was worth €144 million. A difference of nearly ten times.
But 1-0 was 1-0.
For 68 minutes, the Three Lions were pinned in their own half by a team that had been absent from the World Cup for 52 years, unable to break free. English fans probably thought this was an easy win. After all, their opponents had last appeared in the World Cup in 1974. Back then, they were called Zaire, conceded nine goals to Yugoslavia in the group stage, lost all three matches, and scored zero.
The head coach of that team, Desabre, wasn't even born yet.
Desabre had scraped by in the lower French leagues and trudged through the dirt of Algeria and Uganda. When he took over the DRC in 2022, it was a team the world laughed at. In four years, he brought them back to the World Cup. They drew with Portugal in the group stage, beat Uzbekistan, and hard-fought their way into the knockout rounds as the third-place team.
In a pre-match interview with Reuters, Desabre dropped a line: "We have nothing to lose; the pressure is on England."
He wasn't bluffing. Mbenza launched a cross from the right wing, Kinshasa winger Sippinga slipped between two England defenders, and poked the ball into the net.
7 minutes. 1-0.
For the next 68 minutes, England turned their 60% possession into a set of rosary beads. 7 shots on target, 6 off target. The ball got to the edge of the box and stalled; the DRC defenders sealed every gap. The Three Lions struggled in the mud for nearly seventy minutes, finding no foothold.
In the 75th minute, Kane scored with a header. 1-1.
What the DRC had held onto for 68 minutes was shattered by a header from the England captain, whose transfer fee broke the €100 million mark. In the 86th minute, Kane scored again. 2-1. The match ended.
After the game, Desabre walked into the press conference. He sat down, answered questions for about seven minutes as usual. Analyzed the match, evaluated the players, did what a coach is supposed to do.
Then the team's spokesperson, Jerry Angenwa, suddenly interrupted him.
Angenwa announced that Desabre's father had passed away.
No one knew exactly what time the old man had died. British tabloids and French radio stations speculated, while Congolese local radio said he only learned about it after the match. But in front of the globally broadcast cameras, he was informed publicly.
Desabre was visibly stunned. He stared at Angenwa for a moment.
Then he said one word.
"Merci."
He got up and left his seat. The press conference ended.
At the 2023 Women's World Cup final, Spain's Olga Carmona scored the winning goal. Her father had died two days before the final, and her family decided to wait until after the match to tell her. Only after she lifted the trophy did she learn the news, away from the media.
Desabre didn't get that treatment. The DRC's spokesperson chose to deliver the news of his loss as the final agenda item of the press conference, in front of the world's microphones.
He lost a match, and then, in front of microphones from around the world, he was told his father had died.