DR Congo leave it to Chance(l) and come close to making history

Even though the DR Congo haven't played at the FIFA World Cup since 1974 - under the name Zaire, though - throughout the years, they have managed to gather a respectable team, and their recent triumph in the African playoffs and approach to the brink of the USA, Canada, and Mexico is anything but surprising.

After all, the squad that is incredibly close to making history after more than 50 years included as many as ten players from the top five European leagues' clubs and not a single representative of the Congolese domestic clubs.

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The DR Congo gradually became an African football powerhouse, so stars like Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Axel Tuanzebe, and Cedric Bakambu, among others, gladly accepted the invitation to represent the Leopards, despite having other options.

However, none of the present-day superstars brought DR Congo the immense joy. It was the man who was there during tough times and when things around the national team weren't all sunshine and rainbows. It was Chancel Mbemba.

Back in June 2012, when the 17-year-old centre-back debuted for the Leopards in a 3-0 win over Seychelles in the AFCON qualifiers, their starting lineup included five players who played abroad. And not in the elite European leagues, but in Belgium and Qatar, while the subs came from England and Saudi Arabia's lower leagues.

At the time, Mbemba hadn't even made his debut in professional football, as he was still in Anderlecht's youth categories, and the biggest superstar of the team was its all-time leading scorer, Dieumerci Mbokani.

Mbemba was there to face constant failures in the WC qualifiers and one stellar achievement, the third place at the 2015 AFCON. Yet, the negatives mainly outweighed the positives.

Nevertheless, the tables have now turned, and the DR Congo have one of the strongest squads in Africa, while Mbemba is their most-capped player with 101 appearances. His 102nd match will be the Leopards' first - and probably only - clash in the inter-confederation playoffs, in which a victory will mean history and a World Cup ticket after over half a century.

But Sebastien Desabre's crew wouldn't have gotten a chance to enter the legend had it not been for their 31-year-old captain.

He was the one who stepped up when it was most crucial, scored the added-time winner against Cameroon - in his jubilee 100th national team game - in the African playoffs semi-final and netted the last penalty in the shoot-out against Nigeria.

And no matter who scores a decisive goal in March when the last WC tickets will be handed out, Mbemba will deserve the most credit for the success.

Because he was there through thick and thin, and he's the heart and soul of the Leopards.