- Congo has qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 52 years, securing their place with a dramatic 100th-minute goal against Jamaica in an intercontinental play-off in Guadalajara, Mexico.
- Axel Tuanzebe scored the decisive extra-time strike, leading to a 1-0 victory and sparking widespread celebrations across the central African nation.
- The historic qualification provided a rare moment of collective joy and unity for a country ravaged by a decades-long conflict in its mineral-rich eastern regions, involving Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.
- The triumph was acknowledged by both the Congolese government, with President Felix Tshisekedi celebrating, and M23 rebels, highlighting a temporary transcending of political divides.
- Congo, last participating in the World Cup in 1974 as Zaire, will now join Group K alongside Colombia, Portugal, and Uzbekistan.
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