Congo national football team

Congo
Nickname(s)	Diables Rouges ; (Red Devils)
Association	Fédération Congolaise de Football
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	UNIFFAC (Central Africa)
Head coach	Valdo Filho
Captain	Prince Oniangué
Most caps	Jonas Bahamboula (56)
Top scorer	Thievy Bifouma, Jonas Bahamboula (13)
Home stadium	Stade Municipal de Kintélé
FIFA code	CGO
First colours	Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	84 1 (20 September 2018)
Highest	42 (September 2015)
Lowest	144 (September 2011)
Elo ranking
Current	108 3 (20 August 2018)
Highest	37 (July 1972)
Lowest	133 (4 September 2011)
First international
	Ivory Coast 4–2 Congo ; (February 1960)
Biggest win
	Congo 11–0 Chad ; (Congo; 28 March 1964) ; Congo 11–0 São Tomé and Príncipe ; (Gabon; 7 July 1976)
Biggest defeat
	Malagasy Republic 8–1 Congo ; (Madagascar; 18 April 1960)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	7 (first in 1968)
Best result	Champions, 1972

The Congo national football team, nicknamed the Diables Rouges (red devils), is the national team of the Republic of the Congo and is run by the Fédération Congolaise de Football. 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.

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.^[1] 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.

Achievements

CEMAC Cup :

1 Time Champion (2007)

UDEAC Championship :

1 Time Champion (1990)
2 Times Runners-up

Central African Games :

2 Times Runners-up

Competition records

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record									FIFA World Cup Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930 to 1962	Did not enter								Did not enter
1966	Entry not accepted by FIFA								Entry not accepted by FIFA
1970	Did not enter								Did not enter
1974	Did not qualify								2	0	1	1	3	2
1978	Did not qualify								4	1	1	2	10	5
1982 to 1990	Did not enter								Did not enter
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	To be determined
2026	To be determined
Total		0/21							62	21	13	28	74	78

Africa Cup of Nations record

Africa Cup of Nations record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1968	Group stage	7th	3	0	0	3	2	8
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
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	To be determined
2021
2023
Total	1 Title	7/31	26	7	8	11	27	37

African Games record

Football at the African Games has been an under-23 tournament since 1991.

African Games record
Year	Result	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1965	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1973	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1978	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1987	-	0	0	0	0	0	0
1991–present	See Congon national under-23 football team
Total	4/4	0	0	0	0	0	0

Results and fixtures

2017

8 October 2017 2018 WCQ	Egypt	2–1	Congo	Alexandria, Egypt
19:00 EET	M. Salah 63', 90+5' (pen.)	Report	Bouka Moutou 88'	Stadium: Borg El Arab Stadium Attendance: 86,000 Referee: Bakary Gassama (Gambia)

8 November 2017 Friendly	Congo	1–1	Benin	Brazzaville, Congo
14:30 UTC+1	Saint-Louis 45'	Report	Djigla 45+2'	Stadium: Stade Municipal de Kintélé

12 November 2017 2018 WCQ	Congo	1–1	Uganda	Brazzaville, Congo
14:30 UTC+1	Baudry 10'	Report	Karisa 11'	Stadium: Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat Referee: El Fadil Mohamed (Sudan)

2018

16 January 2018 2018 CHAN – Group D	Cameroon	0–1	Congo	Agadir, Morocco
19:30 UTC±00		Report	Makiesse 73' (pen.)	Stadium: Stade Adrar Referee: Gehad Grisha (Egypt)

20 January 2018 2018 CHAN – Group D	Congo	2–0	Burkina Faso	Agadir, Morocco
19:30 UTC±00	Bakoua 67' Bidimbou 90+3'	Report		Stadium: Stade Adrar Referee: Pacifique Ndabihawenimana (Burundi)

24 January 2018 2018 CHAN – Group D	Congo	0–0	Angola	Agadir, Morocco
19:00 UTC±00		Report		Stadium: Stade Adrar Referee: Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria)

28 January 2018 2018 CHAN – QF	Congo	1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–5 p)	Libya	Agadir, Morocco
19:30 UTC±00	Makiesse 37'	Report	Al Taher 15'	Stadium: Stade Adrar Referee: Hamada Nampiandraza (Madagascar)
		Penalties
	Kibamba Mboungou Mouko Rozan		Taktak Khalleefah Alaqoub Al-Maghasi Masaud

25 March 2018 Non-FIFA Friendly	Congo	2–0	Guinea-Bissau	Mantes-la-Jolie, France
15:00 (GMT)	Oniangué 38' Bifouma 58'	Report		Stadium: Stade Aimé Bergéal

9 September 2018 2019 AFCONQ	Congo	1–1	Zimbabwe	Brazzaville, Congo
15:30 UTC+1	Bifouma 50'	Report	Billiat 22'	Stadium: Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat Referee: Victor Gomes (South Africa)

11 October 2018 2019 AFCONQ	Congo	3–1	Liberia	Brazzaville, Congo
15:30 UTC+1	Ndockyt 15' Ibara 62' Oniangué 90'	Report	Johnson 47'	Stadium: Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat Referee: Abdullahi Shuaibu (Nigeria)

16 October 2018 2019 AFCONQ	Liberia	v	Congo	Monrovia, Liberia
16:00 UTC±0		Report		Stadium: Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex

16 November 2018 2019 AFCONQ	Congo	v	DR Congo	Congo
		Report

2019

22 March 2019 2019 AFCONQ	Zimbabwe	v	Congo	Zimbabwe
		Report

Players

Current squad

The following players were selected for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group G matches against Liberia on 11 and 16 October, 2018.^[2]
Caps and goals updated as of 11 October 2018 after the game against Liberia.^[3]

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1GK	Chancel Massa	(1983-01-24) 24 January 1983	14	0	CARA
1GK	Giscard Mavoungou	Unknown	0	0	Cheminots
1GK	Joé Ombandza	(1998-04-09) 9 April 1998	0	0	La Mancha

2DF	Carof Bakoua	(1993-09-09) 9 September 1993	12	1	Diables Noirs
2DF	Marvin Baudry	(1990-01-26) 26 January 1990	28	1	Zulte Waregem
2DF	Ramaric Etou	(1995-01-25) 25 January 1995	3	0	Beitar Tel Aviv Ramla
2DF	Baron Kibamba	(1998-03-23) 23 March 1998	10	0	Linense
2DF	Fernand Mayembo	(1996-01-09) 9 January 1996	7	0	Le Havre
2DF	Faria Ondongo	(1996-06-19) 19 June 1996	0	0	Otôho
2DF	Theorold Saboukoulou	(1999-06-02) 2 June 1999	0	0	Diables Noirs

3MF	Durel Avounou	(1997-09-25) 25 September 1997	9	0	Orléans
3MF	Amour Loussoukou	(1996-12-05) 5 December 1996	7	0	Stade Tunisien
3MF	Merveil Ndockyt	(1998-07-20) 20 July 1998	11	1	Mallorca
3MF	Garcia Nkouka	(1994-01-01) 1 January 1994	1	0	Otôho
3MF	Prince Oniangué	(1988-11-04) 4 November 1988	38	7	Caen
3MF	Harvy Ossété	(1999-08-18) 18 August 1999	0	0	Diables Noirs

4FW	Thievy Bifouma	(1992-05-13) 13 May 1992	28	12	MKE Ankaragücü
4FW	Dzon Delarge	(1990-06-24) 24 June 1990	14	1	Qarabağ
4FW	Prince Ibara	(1996-02-07) 7 February 1996	5	1	USM Alger
4FW	Cabwey Kivutuka	(1998-02-07) 7 February 1998	0	0	CARA
4FW	Junior Makiesse	(1993-06-12) 12 June 1993	14	2	Al Ahli
4FW	Béni Makouana	(2002-09-28) 28 September 2002	1	0	Diables Noirs
4FW	Dylan Saint-Louis	(1995-04-26) 26 April 1995	4	1	Paris FC

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	Christoffer Mafoumbi	(1994-03-03) 3 March 1994	17	0	Blackpool	v. Guinea-Bissau, 25 March 2018
GK	Will-Cesaire Matimbou	(2000-02-11) 11 February 2000	0	0	PSG U19	v. Guinea-Bissau, 25 March 2018
GK	Barel Mouko	(1979-04-05) 5 April 1979	51	1	DCMP	2018 African Nations Championship
GK	Perrauld Ndinga	(1999-05-08) 8 May 1999	0	0	Patronage	v. Guinea-Bissau, 25 March 2018
GK	Pavelh Ndzila	(1995-01-12) 12 January 1995	3	0	Étoile du Congo	v. Zimbabwe, 9 September 2018

DF	Tobias Badila	(1993-05-12) 12 May 1993	6	0	Nancy	v. Guinea-Bissau, 25 March 2018
DF	Dimitri Bissiki	(1991-03-17) 17 March 1991	31	0	Léopards	v. Zimbabwe, 9 September 2018
DF	Arnold Bouka Moutou	(1988-11-28) 28 November 1988	19	1	Dijon	v. Guinea-Bissau, 25 March 2018
DF	Junior Ibouanga Moulys	(1990-12-26) 26 December 1990	0	0	La Mancha	2018 African Nations Championship
DF	Béranger Itoua	(1992-05-09) 9 May 1992	9	0	Otôho	2018 African Nations Championship
DF	Vivien Louembe	(1990-08-20) 20 August 1990	0	0	La Mancha	v. Zimbabwe, 9 September 2018
DF	Samy Farnese Mampembe	(1998-04-02) 2 April 1998	0	0	Léopards	2018 African Nations Championship
DF	Julfin Ondongo	(1990-03-23) 23 March 1990	1	0	Otôho	2018 African Nations Championship
DF	Varel Rozan	(1994-09-09) 9 September 1994	7	0	Diables Noirs	v. Zimbabwe, 9 September 2018

MF	Stanislas Dua Ankira ^PRE	(1994-12-04) 4 December 1994	9	0	CARA	2018 African Nations Championship
MF	Césaire Gandzé	(1989-03-06) 6 March 1989	34	1	Free State Stars	2018 African Nations Championship
MF	Prestone Lakolo	(1989-04-13) 13 April 1989	14	0	Léopards	2018 African Nations Championship
MF	Chardin Madila	(1990-04-15) 15 April 1990	6	0	Léopards	2018 African Nations Championship
MF	Jordan Massengo	(1990-01-31) 31 January 1990	8	2	Free agent	v. Guinea-Bissau, 25 March 2018
MF	Prestige Mboungou	(2000-07-10) 10 July 2000	8	0	Diables Noirs	v. Zimbabwe, 9 September 2018
MF	Delvin N'Dinga ^INJ	(1988-03-14) 14 March 1988	50	1	Sivasspor	v. Guinea-Bissau, 25 March 2018
MF	Fred Duval Ngoma	(1997-11-24) 24 November 1997	1	0	La Mancha	2018 African Nations Championship
MF	Yves Pambou	(1995-11-27) 27 November 1995	3	0	Petah Tikva	v. Guinea-Bissau, 25 March 2018

FW	Dylan Bahamboula	(1995-05-22) 22 May 1995	6	0	Astra Giurgiu	v. Guinea-Bissau, 25 March 2018
FW	Kader Bidimbou	(1996-02-20) 20 February 1996	7	1	Diables Noirs	2018 African Nations Championship
FW	Matheus Botamba	(1993-01-14) 14 January 1993	5	0	Otôho	v. Zimbabwe, 9 September 2018
FW	Férébory Doré	(1989-01-21) 21 January 1989	35	10	Clermont	v. Uganda, 12 November 2017
FW	Silvère Ganvoula	(1996-06-22) 22 June 1996	6	1	Bochum	v. Zimbabwe, 9 September 2018
FW	Saïra Issambet ^PRE	(1998-01-14) 14 January 1998	0	0	Étoile du Congo	2018 African Nations Championship
FW	Rahavi Kifouéti	(1989-03-12) 12 March 1989	2	0	Doxa Katokopias	v. Uganda, 12 November 2017
FW	Kévin Koubemba	(1993-03-23) 23 March 1993	6	0	Sabail	v. Guinea-Bissau, 25 March 2018
FW	Raich Mavouanda ^PRE	Unknown	0	0	Ajax	2018 African Nations Championship
FW	Guy Mbenza	(2000-01-04) 4 January 2000	1	0	La Mancha	v. Zimbabwe, 9 September 2018
FW	Jaures Ngombe	(1998-05-22) 22 May 1998	6	1	Otôho	2018 African Nations Championship
FW	Moise Nkounkou	(1996-08-02) 2 August 1996	12	1	Diables Noirs	2018 African Nations Championship
FW	Bersyl Obassi	(1996-03-29) 29 March 1996	7	0	Otôho	v. Zimbabwe, 9 September 2018
FW	Nicolas Ondama ^PRE	Unknown	0	0	CARA	2018 African Nations Championship
FW	Juvhel Tsoumou	(1990-12-27) 27 December 1990	2	0	Hermannstadt	v. Uganda, 12 November 2017

Notes

^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
^RET Player has retired from international football.
^DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up.
^SUS Suspended from the national team.
^PRE Preliminary Squad.

Coaches

Vasily Sokolov (1964–1965)
Amoyen Bibanzulu (1972)
Cicerone Manolache (1972–1974)
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)
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–)

References

↑ "Congo (Brazzaville) - List of International Matches". rsssf.com. Rec. Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation. 23 December 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
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↑ "Congo".

External links

Official site

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "Congo (Brazzaville) - List of International Matches". rsssf.com. Rec. Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation. 23 December 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2014.

[2] . vox.cg [LA LISTE DES 23 DIABLES ROUGES QUI AFFRONTERONT LE LIBERIA EST DISPONIBLE (FR) LA LISTE DES 23 DIABLES ROUGES QUI AFFRONTERONT LE LIBERIA EST DISPONIBLE (FR)] Check |url= value (help). Missing or empty |title= (help)

[3] "Congo".

National football teams of Africa (CAF)
North Africa (UNAF)	Algeria Egypt Libya Morocco Tunisia
West Africa (WAFU)	Benin Burkina Faso Cape Verde Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Liberia Mali Mauritania Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Togo
East Africa (CECAFA)	Burundi Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Somalia South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zanzibar¹
Central Africa (UNIFFAC)	Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo DR Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon São Tomé and Príncipe
Southern Africa (COSAFA)	Angola Botswana Comoros Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Seychelles South Africa Swaziland Zambia Zimbabwe
Non-regional Members	Réunion¹
¹ Associate member of CAF but not member of FIFA