DR Congo heads to Spain to continue build-up to the FIFA World Cup despite Ebola cancellation

The Democratic Republic of Congo team was on its way to Spain on Thursday to continue its World Cup preparations and remains hopeful of playing its scheduled friendly against Chile next week, coach Sebastien Desabre said.

DR Congo drew 0-0 with Denmark on Wednesday in a World Cup warm-up match at the end of a ten-day training camp in Belgium. It is now looking for an alternative venue for the match against Chile after the Spanish city of La Linea de la Concepcion ruled out the match due to the Ebola outbreak in the African country.

The decision was made by the city’s mayor, despite the DR Congo team having prepared for the tournament in Belgium, with almost all its players and staff in Europe.

“We want to play the game and now we are looking for an alternative that we are sure we will find, even if we have to play the game behind closed doors,” Desabre said.

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The Congolese Football Federation said on Wednesday that its team had met all health, sporting and regulatory requirements and was looking for a solution that would allow the match against Chile to go ahead.

“The players are all affected by what happened in the east of the country,” Desabre said of the Ebola outbreak, which has resulted in 344 confirmed cases and 60 confirmed deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

“We want to continue our work and we look forward to the opportunity to uphold the image that the Democratic Republic of Congo deserves.”

After Spain, the DR Congo team will be based in Houston. The country opens its Group K campaign against Portugal on June 17, before facing Colombia in Guadalajara on June 23 and Uzbekistan on June 27 in Atlanta.

Published on June 4, 2026