Soccer-DR Congo lose to Chile as Ebola concerns force venue switch


The Chile team busses outside the stadium before the match is played behind closed doors, Soccer Football, International Friendly, DR Congo v Chile, Stade de la Source, Orleans, France, June 9, 2026. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson

ORLEANS, France, June ⁠9 (Reuters) - 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.

(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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