LONDON:

Delirious football fans took to the soaked streets of the capital Kinshasa and danced into the night in the rain after the Democratic Republic of Congo reached the World Cup for the first time in 52 years.
Defender Axel Tuanzebe, who plays in the Premier League for Burnley, was the hero with the only goal in a 1-0 win over Jamaica after extra time in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico on Tuesday.
The central African nation will face Portugal, Colombia and Uzbekistan in Group K at the finals in North America this summer.
At the 1974 finals in West Germany, the team competed as Zaire and were beaten by Scotland, Yugoslavia and Brazil.
“We gave it our all, right here in the rain!” shouted Beni Ile, a fan in Kinshasa whose shoulders were draped in a soaked DRC flag.
“We won’t be working on Wednesday! It’s going to be a national holiday. We’re going to celebrate and party all night long.
“We’ve been waiting 50 years for this. We’re staying out until dawn.”
It was a scene replicated across the city of 17 million people, where the final whistle in Guadalajara was greeted by a cacophony of banging pots, car horns and whistles.
The win completed a dramatic qualification campaign for the team nicknamed the Leopards, who eliminated African football giants Nigeria and Cameroon on their way to Tuesday’s playoff.
As early as the morning of the big match, many residents of the DRC capital were already sporting the sky-blue jersey of their beloved national side.
By evening several hundred fans had gathered in a square in the city centre in anticipation to watch the game.
Even as the rain bucketed down, the conclusion of the match after 120 nervy minutes was met with an outpouring of national pride and relief.
It was also a rare moment of national unity in a country scarred by 30 years of conflict and the resurgence of the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group.
“It’s truly exceptional, we are very proud of the Leopards today for this feat,” said Merou, who comes from Goma, a major city in eastern DRC that fell into M23 hands in January 2025.
“This victory will unify the Congo.
“We hope the whole country will benefit from it,” he added, standing in the pouring rain.
Another overjoyed supporter, Maclain, said: “We deserve a moment of happiness, away from the gunfire.
“We need to come together too.”