Brutally tough return to tournament awaits, but the stature of opposition feels less important than the fact of being here at all
It was an arrival worth more than half a century of waiting. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) players strolled into the arrivals hall of George Bush airport on Thursday kitted out in tuxedo suits and leopard-print sashes, channelling La Sape vogue for snappy dress that swept Kinshasa in the 1970s. A throng of local volunteers cheered them through and, in a climate where little can be taken for granted, their welcome to Houston was a genuinely wholesome moment.
The DRC’s squad looked appreciative although perhaps they were simply relieved to see new faces. The joy of a first World Cup since 1974, when they competed as Zaire, has been complicated by the Ebola outbreak in their homeland and a 21-day isolation period imposed by the US authorities. The players and staff formed a bubble in Belgium, playing one friendly against Denmark and being forced to cancel a scheduled meeting with Chile in Cádiz.