The warm-up match for the World Cup in DR Congo against Chile was moved to Orleans due to fears of an Ebola outbreak

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

The match was originally scheduled for Cadiz in Spain, but the city’s mayor canceled it due to concerns about the Ebola virus outbreak in the Central African country.

The team is preparing for the global finals in the Spanish city of Marbella after completing a ten-day training camp in Belgium, where they played to a 0-0 draw against Denmark on Wednesday.

United States officials told players and officials they had to be outside the Democratic Republic of Congo for 21 days and be symptom-free before they could enter the country to play 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 traveled from the country to be in the camp. According to team officials, all individuals are in compliance.

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

By Saturday, the number of confirmed Ebola cases in the country had risen to 488, including 86 deaths.

Published on June 7, 2026