With the Leopards sealing their place after a play-off win over Jamaica in Mexico on 31 March, the Democratic Republic of Congo are heading to the World Cup for the first time in 52 years. The team's goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi tells RFI the scale of that achievement is yet to sink in.
Just over a week after helping his country qualify for the 2026 World Cup, the 31-year-old is back in France at his club Le Havre AC, but still riding high on a historic moment.
For most Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fans, this is the first time they have seen their country reach a World Cup – the nation last qualified in 1974, competing as Zaire.
When the squad returned from their victory over Jamaica in Mexico, they were given a hero's welcome and met with President Félix Tshisekedi, underlining just how much the achievement meant to the country.
Mpasi tells RFI about the support from fans at home and abroad, and what it means for him personally.
RFI: So, are you still on cloud nine?
Lionel Mpasi: I don’t know if I’ve come back down to earth. But I remember the smiles and the celebrations after the match, right from the final whistle. The relief of having done it, it was indescribable. I think I’ll really realise it when we get there. Right now there are too many things going through my head to fully take it in.
RFI: After the celebrations in Mexico, you went back to Kinshasa to continue them. What was that like?
LM: It was madness. We saw that the people had been waiting 52 years. We were summoned by the president and it meant a lot for us to be there, to live that moment, because I think we’ll never experience something like that again in our lives.
My parents are around 50 years old – they were babies, or maybe my father was eight or 10, when Zaire played in the World Cup. So many people in DRC have never seen the country at a World Cup. You could feel it, because the welcome we received from the people was historic. We saw that we had done something historic.
RFI: Do you feel within the team that legacy of the Zaire Leopards from 1974? Have you talked about it?
LM: When we went back to DRC, we saw that we had made history and that we had entered the history of the country. Our names and our generation will be engraved forever in the country’s history.
It meant a lot to us to achieve this because we knew what was at stake, especially with what is happening in the east of the country, the war. When we returned, we saw that we had brought smiles and hope back to people.
We hope this will open the door to more regular World Cup qualifications and improvements in structures, for young people and for the national team. We hope this qualification will help move things forward in a positive way.
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RFI: Fans welcomed you home as heroes in Kinshasa, but you also had lots of support in Guadalajara, where you played the match. Do you have a message for the people who travelled to see it despite visa difficulties?
LM: Honestly, for the play-off we were pleasantly surprised by all the Congolese who were there. They came in large numbers – from the United States, from Canada. In fact, Congolese people from all over the world came together because they knew how important this moment was.
And there were also Mexican supporters who got behind us. It was incredible. We went to watch the match before ours, New Caledonia against Jamaica, and even then the Mexican fans were chanting "Congo! Congo!".
During our match against Jamaica, every time we had the ball you could hear ‘Olé!’ and a huge noise. The support from the Mexicans, along with all the Congolese fans who travelled, was incredible.
We hope there will be just as much, or even more, support at the World Cup. I know people will mobilise, even if it won’t be easy for everyone to get visas.
RFI: On a personal level, do you feel like you're experiencing a career high?
LM: When I arrived here at Le Havre, I was already saying it was the best moment of my career, that I felt at my peak and that I had reached maturity. Discovering Ligue 1 at 31 – better late than never.
Now, qualifying and potentially playing in a World Cup is the highest point in my career. When I look at where I come from and what I’ve been through, it’s a great source of pride.
RFI: What does playing at the highest level in France's Ligue 1 bring to your international career? And does playing with the DRC help you at Le Havre?
LM: Living moments like this gives you a boost, it’s all positive. While I was away, Le Havre picked up a good point against Auxerre at home. It gives me a lot of strength for the end of the season.
I’m very happy to have arrived here last summer. I got such a warm welcome, and I think that showed in my performances with the national team. I hadn’t been playing much at the start of the season, but I managed to win back my place with the Leopards.
There was the Africa Cup of Nations, which went well, and when I came back I got game time at the club. It all follows on, and my move here was not by chance.
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RFI: Le Havre and DRC are both teams used to fighting for survival, or qualification. Is that an environment you thrive in?
LM: I think it suits me because it reflects my career. I’ve always had to work hard and never give up. It’s the same at the club.
We’re not the best, we don’t have the highest salaries or the best facilities, but we fight every day with what we have. There is resilience, and that is the key word in my career and my life.
With DRC it’s the same – we were resilient and fought until the end. With Le Havre, we’ve been fighting every match since the start of the season and we’ll keep fighting until the end. It suits me.
RFI: What is your relationship with the other Congolese players in Ligue 1?
LM: With the national team, we’ve built something. Now when we meet on Ligue 1 pitches, it’s not just another Congolese player – it feels like meeting a family member.
When Lille came here, with Ngal’ayel Mukau and our captain Chancel Mbemba, we exchanged shirts straight away.
RFI: What's one moment from your season you'll hold on to?
LM: Without any doubt, the celebration with the whole Congolese team in Mexico. We’re all on the pitch – players, staff, people from the ministry – with the sign "qualified for the World Cup". It’s an image that will stay with me for a very, very long time.
This interview has been adapted from the original version in French by Baptiste Leduc and lightly edited for clarity.
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