DR Congo ended their 52-year wait to qualify for the World Cup after they beat Jamaica 1-0 after extra time in their intercontinental play-off final.

Axel Tuanzebe was the hero for Congo, scoring the deciding goal in the 10th minute of extra time at Estadio AKRON as they will now face Portugal, Uzbekistan and Colombia in Group F at the World Cup this summer.

Congo started strongly but striker Cedric Bakambu could not get the better of Andre Blake before Ethan Pinnock headed straight at Lionel Mpasi at the other end.

Both sides went close after the half-hour mark, with Meschack Elia first hitting the woodwork for Congo before Leon Bailey did the same for Jamaica with an attempt from distance, though it remained goalless heading into the break.

Bakumbu tested Blake again at the start of the second half before Yoane Wissa fired off target, but neither side managed to create any clear-cut chances as the match seemed destined to head to extra time.

Congo did have the ball in the back of the net with five minutes to go in normal time through Bakumbu, but it was quickly ruled out by the linesman as Theo Bongonda was offside in the build-up.

Tuanzebe, however, made the all-important impact in the 100th minute, scoring from inside the six-yard box after Jamaica failed to deal with an in-swinging corner, and that was enough for Congo to book their trip to North America this summer.

Dreams unlocked.
Congo DR are going to the #FIFAWorldCup. pic.twitter.com/8WtSS3FCV3

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) March 31, 2026

Data Debrief: Congo’s resilience pays off

It was a deserved win for Congo, who produced 1.45 expected goals (xG) from 19 shots while restricting Jamaica to 0.3 xG from just six attempts.

And although Bakambu did not get on the scoresheet, he led the charge from the front. He recorded the most shots (five), most shots on target (two), most touches in the box (eight) and created one chance.

Jamaica, meanwhile, struggled to create chances despite having more possession (52.5%) and completing more passes (437 to 389), with the Reggae Boyz falling short of their World Cup dream.