DR Congo coach informed of father's death during press conference post loss to England

The Democratic Republic of the Congo gave England a scare in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match. Congo held on to the lead till the 75th minute before Harry Kane's brace took England to the pre-quarterfinals. After the 2-1 defeat, Congo's head coach Sebastien Desabre learnt about the devastating news of his father's passing during the post-match press conference.

"Thank you, but we are announcing that the coach has lost his father. Our sincere condolences," the media officer said in French.

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Soon after the announcement, the press conference was cancelled. Desabre said 'Merci (Thank you)', kept his composure and left the conference room. Football fans across the world have expressed their support for the head coach and his family.

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Earlier, Desabre had praised England captain Kane for scoring twice with 11 minutes in the second half.

“We're disappointed because we really believed we could do it,” Congo coach Sébastien Desabre said.

“We played well. Towards the end of the match, we conceded two chances and one of the world's best players scored two goals against us. It's a shame.”

Congo miss out on golden chance

Congo frustrated England, especially after getting an early lead with Brian Sipenga scoring in the seventh minute, beating goalkeeper Jordan Pickford at the near post. Congo could've doubled their lead but Yoane Wissa's shot hit the post.

Congo bow out with heads held high

Despite the exit, it is still DR Congo's best finish in World Cup history. In their first appearance after 52 years, they held Portugal for a draw in the group stage. They beat Uzbekistan 3-1 to enter the round of 32 despite 1-0 loss to Columbia. Congo scripted history with their first goal, point and a win at a World Cup. The 46th ranked gave England a scare. At one point, it seemed that they will pull off an upset. In the past few days, there have been a couple of upsets as Netherlands and Germany have been knocked out of the tournament from Round of 32.

Meanwhile, England managed to keep their hopes of winning the first world cup since 1966 alive.