Congo national football team

Not to be confused with DR Congo national football team.
Congo
Nickname(s) Diables Rouges
(Red Devils)
Association Fédération Congolaise de Football
Sub-confederation UNIFFAC (Central Africa)
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Head coach Pierre Lechantre
Captain Prince Oniangué
Home stadium Stade Municipal de Kintélé
FIFA code CGO
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 59 Steady (5 May 2016)
Highest 42 (September 2015)
Lowest 139 (April 1996)
Elo ranking
Current 96
Highest 37 (July 1972)
Lowest 133 (4 September 2011)
First international
 Ivory Coast 4–2 Congo Republic of the Congo
(February 1960)
Biggest win
 Congo 11–0 Chad 
(Congo; 28 March 1964)
Republic of the Congo Congo 11–0 São Tomé and Príncipe 
(Gabon; 7 July 1976)
Biggest defeat
 Malagasy Republic 8–1 Congo Republic of the Congo
(Madagascar; 18 April 1960)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances 6 (First in 1968)
Best result Winners: 1972

The Congo national football team, nicknamed the Diables Rouges (Red Devils), is the national team of the Republic of the Congo and is controlled 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

Africa Cup of Nations record

Africa Cup of Nations Record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Ethiopia 1968 Group Stage 7th 3 0 0 3 2 8
Sudan 1970 Did Not Enter
Cameroon 1972 Winners 1st 5 3 1 1 9 5
Egypt 1974 Semi-Finals 4th 5 2 1 2 7 10
Ethiopia 1976 Did Not Qualify
Ghana 1978 Group Stage 7th 3 0 1 2 1 4
Nigeria 1980 Did Not Qualify
Libya 1982
Ivory Coast 1984
Egypt 1986
Morocco 1988
Algeria 1990 Did Not Enter
Senegal 1992 Quarter-Finals 5th 3 0 2 1 2 3
Tunisia 1994 Did Not Qualify
South Africa 1996
Burkina Faso 1998
Ghana Nigeria 2000 Group Stage 11th 3 0 2 1 0 1
Mali 2002 Did Not Qualify
Tunisia 2004
Egypt 2006
Ghana 2008
Angola 2010
Gabon Equatorial Guinea 2012
South Africa 2013
Equatorial Guinea 2015 Quarter-Finals 5th 4 2 1 1 6 6
2017 TBD
Cameroon 2019
Ivory Coast 2021
Guinea 2023

Results and fixtures

The following matches were played or are scheduled to be played by the national team in the current or upcoming seasons.

2015

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification games against Zambia on 23 and 27 March 2016.[2]
Caps and goals updated as of 27 March 2016 after the game against Zambia.[3]

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Christoffer Mafoumbi (1994-03-03) 3 March 1994 14 0 Bulgaria Vereya Stara Zagora
1GK Pavelh Ndzila (1995-01-12) 12 January 1995 2 0 Republic of the Congo Étoile du Congo
1GK Wolfrigon Mongondza Ngobo (1990-04-08) 8 April 1990 0 0 Republic of the Congo Diables Noirs

2DF Francis N'Ganga (1985-06-16) 16 June 1985 37 3 Belgium Charleroi
2DF Dimitri Bissiki (1991-03-17) 17 March 1991 24 0 Republic of the Congo Léopards
2DF Boris Moubhio (1988-10-25) 25 October 1988 20 1 Republic of the Congo Léopards
2DF Maël Lépicier (1986-01-14) 14 January 1986 18 0 Belgium Roeselare
2DF Marvin Baudry (1990-01-26) 26 January 1990 16 0 Belgium Zulte Waregem
2DF Arnold Bouka Moutou (1988-11-28) 28 November 1988 13 0 France Angers
2DF Clévid Dikamona (1990-06-23) 23 June 1990 0 0 England Dagenham & Redbridge

3MF Delvin N'Dinga (1988-03-14) 14 March 1988 42 1 Russia Lokomotiv Moscow
3MF Prince Oniangué (1988-11-04) 4 November 1988 30 5 France Reims
3MF Chris Malonga (1987-07-11) 11 July 1987 23 2 France Laval
3MF Sagesse Babélé (1993-02-13) 13 February 1993 15 0 Republic of the Congo Léopards
3MF Durel Avounou (1997-09-25) 25 September 1997 4 0 France Caen
3MF Merveil Ndockyt (1998-07-20) 20 July 1998 4 0 Republic of the Congo Léopards
3MF Jordan Massengo (1990-01-31) 31 January 1990 2 2 Belgium Union SG
3MF Junior Loussoukou (1996-12-05) 5 December 1996 0 0 Republic of the Congo ACNFF

4FW Fabrice Ondama (1988-02-27) 27 February 1988 30 4 Morocco Wydad Casablanca
4FW Thievy Bifouma (1992-05-13) 13 May 1992 16 9 France Reims
4FW Dominique Malonga (1989-01-08) 8 January 1989 6 0 Italy Pro Vercelli
4FW Kevin Koubemba (1993-03-23) 23 March 1993 5 0 France Brest
4FW Giovani Ipamy (1994-09-27) 27 September 1994 2 0 Republic of the Congo Étoile du Congo
4FW Prince Ibara (1996-02-07) 7 February 1996 0 0 Tunisia CA Bizertin

Recent call-ups

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Brice Samba (1994-04-25) 25 April 1994 0 0 France Nancy v.  Benin, 13 October 2015
GK Chancel Massa (1985-08-28) 28 August 1985 13 0 Republic of the Congo CARA Brazzaville v.  Guinea-Bissau, 5 September 2015

DF Cosme Mavoungou (1996-12-22) 22 December 1996 2 0 Republic of the Congo Diables Noirs v.  Ethiopia, 17 November 2015
DF Gloire Yila Dibata (1990-04-25) 25 April 1990 2 0 Republic of the Congo Léopards v.  Cameroon, 31 October 2015
DF Hugo Konongo (1992-02-14) 14 February 1992 1 0 France Créteil v.  Guinea-Bissau, 5 September 2015

MF Hardy Binguila (1996-07-17) 17 July 1996 11 2 France Auxerre v.  Ethiopia, 17 November 2015
MF Moise Nkounkou (1996-08-02) 2 August 1996 10 1 Republic of the Congo Léopards v.  Ethiopia, 17 November 2015
MF Carof Bakoua (1993-09-09) 9 September 1993 4 0 Republic of the Congo Léopards v.  Ethiopia, 17 November 2015
MF Prestone Lakolo (1989-04-13) 13 April 1989 9 0 Republic of the Congo Léopards v.  Cameroon, 31 October 2015
MF Dua Ankira (1994-12-04) 4 December 1994 4 0 Republic of the Congo Léopards v.  Cameroon, 31 October 2015
MF Deldy Ngoyi (1997-04-09) 9 April 1997 2 0 Republic of the Congo Léopards v.  Cameroon, 31 October 2015
MF Noël Mokouka (1994-12-25) 25 December 1994 1 0 Republic of the Congo AS Cheminots v.  Cameroon, 31 October 2015
MF Césaire Gandzé (1989-03-06) 6 March 1989 23 1 Republic of the Congo Léopards v.  Benin, 13 October 2015
MF Dylan Bahamboula (1995-05-22) 22 May 1995 0 0 France Paris FC v.  Benin, 13 October 2015
MF Philtzgerald M'Baka (1993-01-24) 24 January 1993 0 0 Spain Getafe v.  Benin, 13 October 2015
MF Héritier Ngouelou (1990-01-15) 15 January 1990 0 0 Republic of the Congo Léopards v.  Benin, 13 October 2015
MF Jules Iloki (1992-01-14) 14 January 1992 0 0 France Nantes v.  Guinea-Bissau, 5 September 2015

FW Bersyl Obassi (1996-03-29) 29 March 1996 5 0 Republic of the Congo Étoile du Congo v.  Ethiopia, 17 November 2015
FW Junior Makiessé (1993-06-12) 12 June 1993 4 0 Republic of the Congo Léopards v.  Ethiopia, 17 November 2015
FW Kader Bidimbou (1996-02-20) 20 February 1996 4 0 Republic of the Congo Léopards v.  Ethiopia, 17 November 2015
FW Percy Akoli (1993-01-22) 22 January 1993 3 0 Republic of the Congo CARA Brazzaville v.  Cameroon, 31 October 2015
FW Bermagin Kangou (1994-05-21) 21 May 1994 1 0 Republic of the Congo Diables Noirs v.  Cameroon, 31 October 2015
FW Férébory Doré (1989-01-21) 21 January 1989 25 8 France Angers v.  Benin, 13 October 2015
FW Francis Litsingi (1986-09-10) 10 September 1986 9 0 Turkey Gaziantep BB v.  Guinea-Bissau, 5 September 2015
FW Rahavi Kifouéti (1989-03-12) 12 March 1989 0 0 Bulgaria Botev Plovdiv v.  Kenya, 14 June 2015

INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury

Coaches

  • Republic of the Congo Amoyen Bibanzulu (1972)
  • Romania Cicerone Manolache (19721974)
  • France Yvon Goujon (19861987)
  • Republic of the Congo Noël Minga (19921993)
  • Republic of the Congo David Memy (19971998)
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo Alain Nestor Ngouinda (19981999)
  • Republic of the Congo David Memy (19992000)
  • Republic of the Congo Camille Ngakosso (2000)
  • Republic of the Congo Gaston Tchangana (2001)
  • Republic of the Congo Noël Minga (2001)

References

External links

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