Football

DR Congo lose to Chile as Ebola concerns grow

June 10, 2026 6:15 am

International Friendly - DR Congo v Chile - Stade de la Source, Orleans, France - June 9, 2026 Fan gather outside the stadium before the match is played behind closed doors REUTERS/Tom Nicholson Purchase Licensing Rights

class="text-module__text__0GDob text-module__dark-grey__UFC18 text-module__regular__qJJtA text-module__small__sph8i body-module__full_width__kCIGb body-module__small_body__gOmDf article-body-module__paragraph__Ts-yF" data-testid="paragraph-0">The Democratic Republic of Congo wrapped up a disrupted World Cup ​warm-up campaign with a 2-1 defeat ‌by Chile in a behind-closed-doors friendly in Orleans on Tuesday.

The match was switched to the French ​city and played without spectators after ​authorities in Cadiz, the original host venue, ⁠called it off, citing public health ​concerns linked to an Ebola outbreak in the central ​African nation.
After a goalless first half, Dario Osorio put Chile ahead in the 52nd minute and Matias ​Sepulveda added a second four minutes ​from time. Joris Kayembe pulled one back for the ‌Congolese ⁠side in the 88th minute.
U.S. officials have told teams that players and staff must have been outside the DRC for 21 ​days and symptom-free ​before ⁠entering the country for the World Cup.
Congo are due to travel ​to their tournament base in Houston ​on ⁠Thursday and open their Group K campaign against Portugal six days later. They then ⁠face Colombia ​in Guadalajara on June ​23 and Uzbekistan in Atlanta on June 27.