Congo national football team

Not to be confused with DR Congo national football team.

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Congo women's national football team.

The Congo national football team (French: Équipe de football du Congo) represents the Republic of the Congo in men's association football and is governed by the Congolese Football Federation. They have never qualified for the World Cup, but did win the Africa Cup of Nations in 1972. They also won the All-Africa Games football tournament in 1965. The team is also a member of both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Congo

Nickname(s)	Les Diables Rouges (The Red Devils)
Association	Fédération Congolaise de Football (FECOFOOT)
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	UNIFFAC (Central Africa)
Head coach	Isaac Ngata (Interim)
Captain	Amour Loussoukou
Most caps	Jonas Bahamboula Delvin N'Dinga (56)
Top scorer	Thievy Bifouma (16)
Home stadium	Stade Municipal de Kintélé Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat
FIFA code	CGO
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	111 1 (4 April 2024)^[1]
Highest	42 (September 2015)
Lowest	144 (September 2011)
First international
French Congo 5–1 Cameroon (Middle Congo; 1954)^[2]
Biggest win
Congo 11–0 Chad  (Congo; 28 March 1964)  Congo 11–0 São Tomé and Príncipe  (Libreville, Gabon; 7 July 1976)
Biggest defeat
Malagasy Republic 8–1 Congo  (Antananarivo, Madagascar; 18 April 1960)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	7 (first in 1968)
Best result	Champions (1972)
Jordan International Tournament
Appearances	1 (first in 1992)
Best result	Fourth place (1992)

History

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.^[4] 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.

Results and fixtures

Main article: Congo national football team results (2020–present)

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

2023

South Sudan   v   Congo

27 March 2023 AFCON qualification	South Sudan	0–1	Congo	Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
16:00 UTC+3		Report	Charpentier   90'	Stadium: National Stadium Referee: Joseph Odey Ogabor (Nigeria)

Congo   v   Mali

18 June 2023 AFCON qualification	Congo	0–2	Mali	Brazzaville, Congo
17:00 UTC+1		Report	Koné   62' Dorgeles   73'	Stadium: Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat Referee: Samir Guezzaz (Morocco)

Gambia   v   Congo

10 September 2023 AFCON qualification	Gambia	2–2	Congo	Marrakesh, Morocco
20:00 UTC+1	Minteh   79' Badamosi   90'	Report	Makouta   30' Ganvoula   45+1' (pen.)	Stadium: Stade de Marrakech Referee: Mohamed Maarouf Eid Mansour (Egypt)

Zambia   v   Congo

17 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification	Zambia	4–2	Congo	Ndola, Zambia
18:00 UTC+2	Daka   5', 90+2' Banda   43' F. Sakala   69'	Report	Ganvoula   13' Bassouamina   15'	Stadium: Levy Mwanawasa Stadium Referee: Mahmoud El Banna (Egypt)

2024

Gabon   v   Congo

25 March Friendly	Gabon	1–1	Congo	Chambly, France
20:30	Mario Lemina!Lemina   42'	Report	Ganvoula   73'	Stadium: Stade des Marais

Congo   v   Niger

June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Congo

v

Niger

TBD, Congo

Congo   v   Morocco

June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Congo

v

Morocco

TBD, Congo

2025

Tanzania   v   Congo

March 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Tanzania

v

Congo

TBD, Tanzania

Congo   v   Zambia

March 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Congo

v

Zambia

TBD, Congo

Congo   v   Tanzania

September 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Congo

v

Tanzania

TBD, Congo

Congo   v   Eritrea

September 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Congo

v

Eritrea

TBD, Congo

Niger   v   Congo

October 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Niger

v

Congo

TBD, Niger

Morocco   v   Congo

October 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Morocco

v

Congo

TBD, Morocco

Coaches

•   Paul Ebondzibato (1962–1964)
•   Vasily Sokolov (1964–1965)
•   Paul Ebondzibato (1965–1970)
•   Adolphe Bibanzoulou (1970–1973)
•   Robert Ndoudi (1973–1974)
•   Cicerone Manolache (1974–1976)
•   Zoran Ristić (1984)
•   Yvon Goujon (1986–1987)
•   Noël Minga (1992–1993)
•   David Mémy (1997–1998)
•   Alain Nestor Ngouinda (1998–1999)
•   David Mémy (1999–2000)
•   Camille Ngakosso (2000)
•   Gaston Tchangana (2001)
•   Noël Minga (2001)
•   Eugen Moldovan (2001–2002)
•   Alain Nestor Ngouinda (2002)
•   Claude Andrey (2002–2003)
•   Tahseen Jabbary (2002–2003)
•   Jean-Paul Bernard (2003)
•   Michel Hidalgo (2004)
•   Christian Létard (2004–2005)
•   Gaston Tchangana (2005–2006)
•   Noël Tosi (2006–2007)
•   Gaston Tchangana (2007–2008)
•   Ivica Todorov (2008–2010)
•   Robert Corfou (2010–2011)
•   Camille Ngakosso (2011)
•   Jean-Guy Wallemme (2011–2012)
•   Kamel Djabour (2012–13)
•   Claude Le Roy (2013–15)
•   Pierre Lechantre (2016)
•   Barthélémy Ngatsono (2016–17)
•   Sébastien Migné (2017–18)
•   Valdo Filho (2018–2021)
•   Paul Put (2021–2023)
•   Isaac Ngata (2023-present)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called-up for the friendly match against Gabon on 26 March 2024.^[5]

Caps and goals are correct as of 26 March 2024, after the match against Gabon.^[6]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	1GK	Trey Vimalin	(2001-01-28) 28 January 2001 (age 23)	1	0	Fleury 91
	1GK	Melvin Douniama	(2003-02-26) 26 February 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Paris FC Youth
	1GK	Owen-Césaire Matimbou	(2002-06-19) 19 June 2002 (age 21)	1	0	Orleans
	2DF	Ravy Tsouka	(1994-12-23) 23 December 1994 (age 29)	19	0	AEL Limassol
	2DF	Yhoan Andzouana	(1996-12-13) 13 December 1996 (age 27)	9	0	DAC Dunajská Streda
	2DF	Bryan Passi	(1997-08-05) 5 August 1997 (age 26)	5	0	Hapoel Tel Aviv
	2DF	Vladis-Emmerson Illoy-Ayyet	(1995-10-07) 7 October 1995 (age 28)	3	1	Ural Yekaterinburg
	2DF	Loick Ayina	(2003-04-20) 20 April 2003 (age 21)	0	0	Ross County
	2DF	Erving Botaka	(1998-11-05) 5 November 1998 (age 25)	0	0	Arsenal Tula
	2DF	Christ Makosso	(2004-05-09) 9 May 2004 (age 19)	1	0	Sochaux
	2DF	Brayann Pereira	(2003-05-21) 21 May 2003 (age 20)	0	0	NEC
	3MF	Gaius Makouta	(1997-07-25) 25 July 1997 (age 26)	19	2	Boavista
	3MF	Antoine Makoumbou	(1998-07-18) 18 July 1998 (age 25)	17	1	Cagliari
	3MF	Dylan Bahamboula	(1995-05-22) 22 May 1995 (age 28)	12	0	Busaiteen Club
	3MF	Chandrel Massanga	(1999-08-17) 17 August 1999 (age 24)	9	0	Hatayspor
	3MF	Fred Dembi	(1995-02-21) 21 February 1995 (age 29)	7	1	Red Star
	3MF	Will Hondermarck	(2000-11-21) 21 November 2000 (age 23)	0	0	Northampton
	3MF	Rabby Nzingoula	(2005-11-25) 25 November 2005 (age 18)	0	0	Strasbourg
	4FW	Silvère Ganvoula	(1996-06-29) 29 June 1996 (age 27)	17	6	Young Boys
	4FW	Mons Bassouamina	(1998-05-28) 28 May 1998 (age 25)	6	1	Pau
	4FW	Gabriel Charpentier	(1999-05-17) 17 May 1999 (age 24)	3	1	Parma
	4FW	Jason Bahamboula	(2001-06-15) 15 June 2001 (age 22)	0	0	Valmiera
	4FW	Archange Bintsouka	(2002-10-25) 25 October 2002 (age 21)	0	0	Partizani
	4FW	Christopher Ibayi	(1995-07-18) 18 July 1995 (age 28)	0	0	Rouen
	4FW	Alain Ipiélé	(1997-08-20) 20 August 1997 (age 26)	0	0	Dunkerque

Recent call-ups

The following players were called up for Congo in the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Wolfrigon Mongondza	(1990-04-08) 8 April 1990 (age 34)	3	0	Diables Noirs	v.   Zambia, 17 November 2023
GK	Pavelh Ndzila	(1995-01-12) 12 January 1995 (age 29)	19	0	APR	v.   Gambia, 10 September 2023
GK	Giscard Mavoungou	(1999-11-30) 30 November 1999 (age 24)	0	0	Otôho	v.   Gambia, 10 September 2023
GK	Chris Guelor Bissila	(2003-12-10) 10 December 2003 (age 20)	0	0	Diables Noirs	v.   Mali, 18 June 2023
GK	Chill Ngakosso	(1994-07-26) 26 July 1994 (age 29)	0	0	ACNFF	v.   Mali, 18 June 2023
GK	Christoffer Mafoumbi	(1994-03-03) 3 March 1994 (age 30)	37	0	Differdange	v.   Mali, 18 June 2023 ^PRE
DF	Julfin Ondongo	(1997-03-28) 28 March 1997 (age 27)	11	0	Almurooj	v.   Zambia, 17 November 2023
DF	Bradley Mazikou	(1996-06-02) 2 June 1996 (age 27)	9	0	Servette	v.   Zambia, 17 November 2023
DF	Morgan Poaty	(1997-07-15) 15 July 1997 (age 26)	5	0	Lausanne-Sport	v.   Zambia, 17 November 2023
DF	Ryan Bidounga	(1997-04-29) 29 April 1997 (age 27)	6	0	FC CSKA 1948 Sofia	v.   Gambia, 10 September 2023
DF	Francis Nzaba	(2002-07-17) 17 July 2002 (age 21)	3	0	Dinamo Tbilisi	v.   Gambia, 10 September 2023
DF	Faria Jobel Ondongo	(1996-06-19) 19 June 1996 (age 27)	3	0	Otôho	v.   Gambia, 10 September 2023
DF	Messie Biatoumoussoka	(1998-06-05) 5 June 1998 (age 25)	2	0	AS FAR	v.   Gambia, 10 September 2023
DF	Varel Rozan	(1999-09-09) 9 September 1999 (age 24)	21	0	Vita Club	v.   Mali, 18 June 2023
DF	Raddy Ovouka	(1999-12-07) 7 December 1999 (age 24)	9	0	Drita	v.   Mali, 18 June 2023
DF	Ramaric Etou	(1995-01-25) 25 January 1995 (age 29)	4	0	Dila Gori	v.   Mali, 18 June 2023
DF	Roussel Ngoulou M'Bani	(2003-08-16) 16 August 2003 (age 20)	0	0	Étoile du Congo	v.   Mali, 18 June 2023
MF	Prestige Mboungou	(2000-07-10) 10 July 2000 (age 23)	25	2	Ajman	v.   Zambia, 17 November 2023
MF	Thievy Bifouma	(1992-05-13) 13 May 1992 (age 31)	41	16	A.E. Kifisia	v.   Zambia, 17 November 2023 ^INJ
MF	Merveil Ndockyt	(1998-07-20) 20 July 1998 (age 25)	21	1	HNK Gorica	v.   Zambia, 17 November 2023 ^INJ
MF	Harvy Ossété	(1999-08-18) 18 August 1999 (age 24)	28	0	Saint-Éloi	v.   Gambia, 10 September 2023
MF	Warren Tchimbembé	(1998-04-21) 21 April 1998 (age 26)	2	0	Guingamp	v.   Gambia, 10 September 2023
MF	Nsana Simon	(2000-03-11) 11 March 2000 (age 24)	0	0	NK Bravo	v.   Mali, 18 June 2023
FW	Domi Massoumou	(2003-06-04) 4 June 2003 (age 20)	1	0	Diables Noirs	v.   Zambia, 17 November 2023
FW	Béni Makouana	(1999-09-28) 28 September 1999 (age 24)	13	0	Polissya Zhytomyr	v.   Zambia, 17 November 2023 ^INJ
FW	Guy Mbenza	(2000-04-01) 1 April 2000 (age 24)	21	5	Muaither SC	v.   Gambia, 10 September 2023
FW	Mavis Tchibota	(1996-05-07) 7 May 1996 (age 28)	10	0	Hapoel Tel Aviv	v.   Gambia, 10 September 2023
FW	Prince Ibara	(1996-02-07) 7 February 1996 (age 28)	16	4	Becamex Binh Duong	v.   Mali, 18 June 2023
FW	Chance Mondzenga	(2001-05-10) 10 May 2001 (age 22)	1	0	Métlaoui	v.   Mali, 18 June 2023
FW	Christ Toulouenga	(2005-08-24) 24 August 2005 (age 18)	1	0	Diables Noirs	v.   Mali, 18 June 2023
FW	Bevic Moussiti-Oko	(1995-01-28) 28 January 1995 (age 29)	7	0	Ajaccio	v.   Mali, 18 June 2023 ^INJ
^DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up. ^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. ^PRE Preliminary squad. ^RET Player has retired from international football. ^SUS Suspended from the national team.

Records

As of 17 November 2023^[7]

Players in bold are still active with Congo.

Most appearances

 

Delvin N'Dinga is Congo's joint-most capped player with 56 appearances.

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–present
	Francis N'Ganga	41	3	2008–2017
10	Brice Samba	38	0	1990–2001

Top goalscorers

 

Thievy Bifouma is Congo's top scorer with 16 goals.

Rank	Player	Goals	Caps	Ratio	Career
1	Thievy Bifouma	16	41	0.39	2014–present
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–present
	Silvère Ganvoula	5	20	0.25	2014–present
	Guy Mbenza	5	21	0.24	2017–present
	Hardy Binguila	5	25	0.2	2013–present
	Rolf-Christel Guié-Mien	5	25	0.2	1996–2008
	Fabrice Ondama	5	37	0.14	2006–2017

Competition records

FIFA World Cup record

FIFA World Cup										Qualification
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	F	A		Pld	W	D	L	F	A
1930 to 1958	Part of   France									Part of   France
as   Congo-Brazzaville
1962	Not a FIFA member									Not a FIFA member
1966	Entry not accepted by FIFA									Entry not accepted by FIFA
as   People's Republic of the Congo
1970	Did not enter									Did not enter
1974	Did not qualify									2	0	1	1	3	2
1978										4	1	1	2	10	5
1982	Did not enter									Did not enter
1986
1990
as   Republic of the Congo
1994	Did not qualify									4	0	0	4	0	5
1998										8	4	2	2	8	6
2002										10	3	2	5	10	17
2006										12	4	2	6	12	15
2010										6	3	0	3	7	8
2014										8	4	3	1	13	4
2018										8	2	2	4	11	16
2022										6	0	3	3	5	10
2026	To be determined									1	0	0	1	2	4
2030										To be determined
2034
Total		0/15								69	21	16	32	81	92

Africa Cup of Nations record

Africa Cup of Nations record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1957	Part of   France
1959
Played as   Congo-Brazzaville
1962	Not affiliated to CAF
1963
1965
1968	Group stage	7th	3	0	0	3	2	8
Played as   People's Republic of the Congo
1970	did not enter
1972	Winners	1st	5	3	1	1	9	5
1974	Fourth place	4th	5	2	1	2	7	10
1976	did not qualify
1978	Group stage	7th	3	0	1	2	1	4
1980	did not qualify
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990	did not enter
Played as   Republic of the Congo
1992	Quarter-finals	5th	3	0	2	1	2	3
1994	did not qualify
1996
1998
2000	Group stage	11th	3	0	2	1	0	1
2002	did not qualify
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2013
2015	Quarter-finals	5th	4	2	1	1	6	6
2017	did not qualify
2019
2021
2023
2025	to be determined
2027
Total	1 Title	7/34	26	7	8	11	27	37

African Games

See also: Congo national under-23 football team

See also: Congo national under-20 football team

African Games record
Year	Result	M	W	D	L	GF	GA
1965	Gold	5	3	1	1	11	5
1973	6th	3	1	0	2	5	8
Total	2/4	8	4	1	3	16	13

Achievements

Africa Cup of Nations

• Winners: 1972

Football at the African Games

•   Gold medalists: 1965

CEMAC Cup:

• Winners: 2007

UDEAC Championship:

• Winners: 1990

References

1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
2. "World Football Elo Ratings". www.eloratings.net. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
3. Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
4. "Congo (Brazzaville) - List of International Matches". RSSSF. Rec. Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation. 23 December 2013. from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
5. "Fédération Congolaise de Football Officiel: Liste des Diables Rouges". www.facebook.com.
6. "Gabon vs. Congo".
7. Mamrud, Roberto. "Congo-Brazzaville – Record International Players". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 March 2018.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Congo national football team.

• Official website  
• Congo at CAF
• Congo at FIFA