England’s reward for topping Group L is a World Cup Round of 32 tie against a DR Congo side stitched together from the Premier League and beyond.
They meet Thomas Tuchel’s team at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Wednesday, July 1st, in the first knockout match in the country’s history. It is only their second World Cup, the first being 1974, when they competed as Zaire.
They might not have made it this far without an aggressive recruitment drive aimed at dual-national players raised in Europe. Aaron Wan-Bissaka is the headline name — and it took DR Congo a year to land him.
How DR Congo finally convinced Wan-Bissaka to switch
Much of the credit belongs to Gabriel Zakuani, the former DR Congo captain who now works as a technical consultant.
Born in Kinshasa before moving to London as a child, Zakuani played more than 400 games in England for clubs including Peterborough United and Stoke City, and he now keeps a database of eligible players and files scouting reports for head coach Sébastien Desabre.
According to The Times, Wan-Bissaka was one of his main targets. Zakuani and Desabre went to the defender’s parents in person.
The pitch was direct: a World Cup, the Africa Cup of Nations, and the chance to be a focal point for DR Congo rather than wait on an England career that had stalled. Zakuani put it as choosing that role over staying “a small fish in a big pond.”
The family had concerns about professionalism, facilities and reports of unpaid bonuses, and it took a year from first contact — plus an invitation to a national-team camp in Paris — before Wan-Bissaka committed.
Zakuani also helped persuade Axel Tuanzebe, the Burnley defender, after first being told by the player’s brother that he was not interested. Tuanzebe repaid the effort by scoring the extra-time goal against Jamaica that sent DR Congo to the finals.
Sunderland’s Noah Sadiki, 21, was an easier sell, moving from Belgium’s youth ranks to a senior side Zakuani believes he could one day captain. Years earlier, the same approach had brought in Yannick Bolasie.
For Wan-Bissaka, the decision closed a long chapter. A Crystal Palace academy graduate, he earned a £50 million move to Manchester United in 2019 and won the FA Cup and the EFL Cup before joining West Ham.
He was called into England’s senior squad in 2019 but withdrew injured, and the competition at right-back meant he never won a senior cap. FIFA approved his switch to DR Congo in August 2025.
What it means for England on Wednesday
Now Wan-Bissaka is likely to line up against the country he once hoped to represent.
England are heavy favorites in Atlanta, where DR Congo arrive as underdogs.
The biggest attacking threat is Yoane Wissa, the Newcastle United forward who carried the scoring through the group stage. Tuchel’s side topped Group L with wins over Croatia and Panama either side of a draw with Ghana, and they will expect to control the game.
But DR Congo are not in Atlanta by accident.
The recruitment that brought Wan-Bissaka, Tuanzebe and the rest is the reason they are still standing — and on Wednesday, the player England didn’t want will try to knock them out.
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