Congo national football team

The Congo national football team made its first ever appearance in February 1960 in a friendly against the Ivory Coast which they lost 4–2.^[3] On 13 April, they defeated Reunion 4–1 in their first game to advance to the quarter-finals. In their quarter-final on 15 April, they defeated the Ivory Coast 3–2. On 17 April, they lost 5–4 to Cameroon and were beaten 8–1 by the host Madagascar in the third-place play-off on 19 April.

In April 1963 they entered another L'Amitié competition, this time in Senegal, and were drawn in a group with Tunisia, the Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo and Mauritania. They lost their opener 2–0 to Tunisia on 13 April but beat the Ivory Coast 3–2 the next day. On 15 April they beat their neighbour Congo Kinshasa 2–1, and then Mauritania 11–0 two days later, but did not advance to the next round.

In July 1965 the Congo held the 1965 All-Africa Games and were drawn in a group with Mali, Uganda and Togo. They drew 1–1 with Mali on 18 July and beat Uganda 2–1 the next day. On 21 July they drew 1–1 against Togo but advanced through to the semi-finals, where they beat the Ivory Coast 1–0 on 23 July. On 25 July the Congo drew 0–0 versus Mali in the final, but won the tournament by having won ten corners in the final compared to Mali's one.

On 11 January 1967 the Congo played their first non-African opposition, defeating Romania 1–0 in a home friendly. On 19 February 1967 the Congo travelled to Tunisia for their first ever African Cup of Nations qualifier, drawing 1–1. On 2 August 1967 they hosted a qualifier against Cameroon, and defeated them 2–1 to top their qualifying group and advance to their first finals.

The finals were held in Ethiopia in January 1968 and the Congo were drawn in a group with their neighbour Zaire, Senegal and Ghana. They lost the opener to Zaire 3–0 on 12 January and two days later lost 2–1 to Senegal. On 16 January the Congo were defeated 3–1 by Ghana and were knocked out.

The Congo hosted a friendly against Romania for the second successive year on 16 June 1968 and won 4–2. On 30 July 1968 they played their first ever South American opposition, losing a home friendly 2–0 to Brazil.

In 1972, the Congo won their only African Cup of Nations title. Congo defeated host Cameroon in the semi-final 1–0 before beating Mali 3–2 to claim the championship. On that squad was arguably Congo's most famous player, François M'Pelé, who starred for PSG in the 1970s.

In qualification for the 1998 World Cup, the Congo came within a win of qualifying for the final tournament. However, after home wins over Zambia, DR Congo and South Africa, Congo lost their final match 1–0 away to South Africa and was eliminated.

In February 2025 Congo was suspended from international competitions by FIFA due to "third-party interference" in FECOFOOT - Congolese football's governing body.^[4]

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2025

Congo  v  Tanzania

5 September 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Congo	1–1	Tanzania	Brazzaville, Congo
	Moussavou 68'	Report	Samatta 84'	Stadium: Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat Referee: Thabang Ketshabile (Botwsana)

Congo  v  Eritrea

8 September 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Congo

Canceled

Eritrea

TBD, Congo

Niger  v  Congo

8 October 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Niger	3–1	Congo	Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
19:00 UTC+0	Sosah 45+2' Oumarou 49' Adebayor 67'	Report	Bassinga 90+4'	Stadium: Stade du 4 Août Referee: Boubou Traoré (Mali)

Morocco  v  Congo

13 October 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Morocco	1–0	Congo	Rabat, Morocco
20:00 UTC+1	En-Nesyri 63'	Report		Stadium: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium Referee: Abdel Aziz Bouh (Mauritania)

2026

Congo  v  Comoros

TBD 2027 AFCON qualification	Congo	v	Comoros	TBD, Congo
TBD				Stadium: TBD

Comoros  v  Congo

TBD 2027 AFCON qualification	Comoros	v	Congo	TBD, Comoros
TBD				Stadium: TBD

Congo  v  Namibia

TBD 2027 AFCON qualification	Congo	v	Namibia	TBD, Congo
TBD				Stadium: TBD

Namibia  v  Congo

TBD 2027 AFCON qualification	Namibia	v	Congo	TBD, Namibia
TBD				Stadium: TBD

Cameroon  v  Congo

TBD 2027 AFCON qualification	Cameroon	v	Congo	TBD, Cameroon
TBD				Stadium: TBD

Congo  v  Cameroon

TBD 2027 AFCON qualification	Congo	v	Cameroon	TBD, Congo
TBD				Stadium: TBD

As of 14 October 2025^[6]

Players in bold are still active with Congo.

Most appearances

More information Rank, Player ...

Rank	Player	Caps	Goals	Career
1	Jonas Bahamboula	56	13	1969–1982
	Delvin N'Dinga	56	1	2008–2021
3	Destin Makita	55	1	2001–2013
4	Barel Mouko	51	1	2004–2018
5	Magnoléké Bissiki	45	0	2012–2021
6	Oscar Ewolo	44	2	2000–2013
7	Prince Oniangué	43	8	2008–2019
8	Thievy Bifouma	41	16	2014–2023
	Francis N'Ganga	41	3	2008–2017
10	Christoffer Mafoumbi	38	0	2012–present
	Brice Samba	38	0	1990–2001

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Top goalscorers

More information Rank, Player ...

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Thievy Bifouma	16	41	0.39	2014–2023
2	Jonas Bahamboula	13	56	0.23	1969–1982
3	François M'Pelé	12	29	0.41	1971–1978
4	Paul Moukila	11	31	0.35	1970–1978
5	Anges Ngapy	10	33	0.3	1984–1993
	Férébory Doré	10	37	0.27	2010–2017
7	Jean-Jacques N'Domba	8	35	0.23	1974–1992
	Prince Oniangué	8	43	0.19	2008–2019
9	Kader Bidimbou	5	13	0.38	2014–2023
	Guy Mbenza	5	21	0.24	2017–2023
	Rolf-Christel Guié-Mien	5	25	0.2	1996–2008
	Hardy Binguila	5	29	0.17	2013–2023
	Silvère Ganvoula	5	29	0.17	2014–present
	Fabrice Ondama	5	37	0.14	2006–2017

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