GUADALAJARA, June 24 — Democratic Republic of the Congo manager Sebastien Desabre urged his team to remain positive as it seeks to keep alive hopes of reaching the World Cup knockout stage.
The African side is third in Group K with one point and must win its last match against Uzbekistan in Atlanta on Saturday to have any chance of progressing to the last 32. “We need to accept the loss, keep our heads high and get back into the fight quickly,” Desabre told reporters after his team’s 1-0 loss to Colombia on Tuesday. He admitted that Colombia deserved to win after Daniel Munoz’s late strike broke his side’s resistance at Guadalajara Stadium. “It would have been good to get a draw, but we must recognize that Colombia was superior,” the Frenchman said. “They have an excellent possession game. We came into the game late. Our second half was better, but that’s football. We have to analyze what happened and move forward.” Playing at the World Cup for the first time since 1974, DR Congo secured its first ever point in the tournament with an opening 1-1 draw against Portugal last week. Desabre said his team was proud of the achievement but still wants more. “We are happy to have scored our first goal, and we are using this as a learning experience,” he said. “Uzbekistan will be difficult because they defend well but we are going to give our all. Now we have to rest and recover our energy.”
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