- 1 DR Congo vs Equatorial Guinea: the Leopards kick off in an empty stadium
- 2 DR Congo: the World Cup changed everything
- 3 Equatorial Guinea: a rough year from start to finish
- 4 Football prediction DR Congo vs Equatorial Guinea
- 5 Before anything else, a word on our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Details can change
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the visuals…
DR Congo vs Equatorial Guinea: the Leopards kick off in an empty stadium 
DR Congo begin their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign on Thursday at 18:00 Paris time. The Leopards host Equatorial Guinea at the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa.
The backdrop is odd: the match will be played behind closed doors. CAF has only partially approved the stadium, which takes away DR Congo’s biggest edge.
The national service did, though, get the ground back in shape over the past few weeks ahead of the deadline. The sporting punishment stands anyway, and the team will have to live with it.
Nigerian referee Joseph Odey Ogabor has been handed the game, with two fellow countrymen alongside him. A neutral crew for a match that should stay under control.
DR Congo arrive with a fresh status on the continent after their 2026 World Cup run. Equatorial Guinea, by contrast, come in off a campaign that was mostly a mess.
These opening games are there to be won at home. Full stop. The Leopards have no excuse, even with no crowd inside the ground.
A slip-up first time out would make the whole African campaign far more awkward for the Congolese. The dressing room knows it.
DR Congo have not played since their World Cup exit on 1 July. So this September window also serves as a restart for the Leopards.
Equatorial Guinea are in a far duller run, without a win since March. The two teams are on very different tracks.
DR Congo: the World Cup changed everything 
Everything turned on 31 March with a 1-0 win over Jamaica in the playoff. That result sent DR Congo to the World Cup.
At the finals, the Leopards held Portugal to a 1-1 draw in their opener. That result immediately raised expectations.
After a narrow 1-0 loss to Colombia, they thumped Uzbekistan 3-1 to get out of the group. The run ended on 1 July with a 2-1 defeat to England.
Before that, qualification had already come through a major scalp. On 13 November 2025, DR Congo went to Cameroon and won 1-0 in an African playoff.
The defensive strength stands out throughout that run. A 0-0 draw with Denmark in a friendly in early June, then three World Cup games with no more than one goal conceded.
At the last AFCON, they had also smashed Botswana 3-0 before slipping to a 1-0 defeat against Algeria. This attack can hurt teams when space appears.
This group has gone up several notches in six months and has been tested in high-pressure games. Against Equatorial Guinea, the gap in quality is huge.
The 3-1 win over Uzbekistan remains DR Congo’s best attacking display of the year. Three goals in a World Cup match is not something many African sides can say.
The 0-0 against Denmark in early June had already shown how disciplined this team is at the back. The Leopards know how to shut a game down when they need to.
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Across their last six competitive matches, DR Congo have only lost to Colombia and England. Two sides that were among the World Cup favourites.
That sort of reference point matters in African qualifying. Thursday’s visitors have nothing close to that over the past year.
Equatorial Guinea: a rough year from start to finish 
Nzalang Nacional left the last AFCON with three defeats from three. They were beaten 2-1 by Burkina Faso, 1-0 by Sudan, then 3-1 by Algeria.
The numbers were brutal: zero points, two goals scored and six conceded. They were outplayed in every meaningful sense.
It did not get any better after that. On 9 June, Equatorial Guinea lost 1-0 at home to the Comoros, a side that had not scored a single goal at the tournament.
Their last real bright spot came on 25 March, when they nicked a 1-0 win over Kyrgyzstan. Since then, not much to shout about.
World Cup qualifying had already set the tone in autumn 2025. A 1-0 loss to Tunisia, then a 3-0 defeat in Malawi, before a 1-1 draw with Liberia.
This is not a team that falls apart every time, but it is badly short of attacking punch. Three goals in its last five outings is nowhere near enough for a trip to Kinshasa.
The closed-door setting is their one piece of good news. Without the pressure of the Congolese crowd, they can hope to hang on a little longer than usual.
The 3-0 defeat in Malawi in October 2025 remains the worst display in this recent spell. The Equatoguinean block completely fell apart that day.
The overall record is plain enough: only two wins in their last eight recorded games. The lack of attacking rhythm is the real problem for this side.
Two goals in three AFCON matches, including none against Sudan, will not cut it in Kinshasa. They need a completely different performance on Thursday night.
Probable DR Congo line-up: Not announced at the time of publication.
Probable Equatorial Guinea line-up: Not announced at the time of publication.
Football prediction DR Congo vs Equatorial Guinea
Our prediction: DR Congo win
DR Congo held Portugal, beat Uzbekistan 3-1 and pushed England all the way this summer. Equatorial Guinea, over the same stretch, lost at home to the Comoros.
The gap in quality and confidence between the two sides is massive. The Leopards have only conceded more than one goal once in their last six matches, against England.
The closed doors take away some of the atmosphere, but they do not change the balance on the pitch. Back the Congolese to win.
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