A second Leopards camp opens in Pretoria

DR Congo opened a second training camp in Pretoria on September 29, reshaping its squad for two friendlies against Uganda. According to FECOFA, this new phase runs until October 6 in South Africa, following September’s trips for the Pamoja 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The Leopards arrived from Harare in the early afternoon and trained that evening at Lucas Moripe Stadium. Sébastien Desabre oversaw the opening session, as the national team moved from the group assembled for its qualifying matches to the squad retained for the friendlies.

Six players who had started against Zimbabwe were rested for that session: Chancel Mbemba, Mathieu Epolo, Joris Kayembe, Noah Sadiki, Junior Kadile and Nathanaël Mbuku. The federation said the other players trained under the head coach’s supervision. The rest applied to the opening practice; it was not an announcement that those six had withdrawn from the camp.

Eleven players from the first gathering, held from September 21 to 28 in Kinshasa and then Harare, were released back to their clubs. The federation’s list comprises Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Arthur Masuaku, Axel Tuanzebe, Samuel Moutoussamy, Edo Kayembe, Ngalayel Mukau, Meschack Elia, Brian Cipenga, Yoane Wissa, Fiston Mayele and Simon Banza. Their departures distinguish the two groups assembled by Desabre during this international window.

DR Congo begins this phase after two qualifying wins: 2-0 against Equatorial Guinea and 2-1 against Zimbabwe. FECOFA announced Uganda friendlies for October 2 and 5, with new players to be tested during the two games. These friendlies are separate from the two results already secured in the qualifying campaign.

This article was written with artificial-intelligence assistance using information published by FECOFA.