DR Congo announced the death of their head coach's father moments after his side's World Cup defeat to England. The African nation stunned the Three Lions by taking the lead inside seven minutes and almost pulled off an upset for the ages in their last 32 clash.
England's Narrow Escape
Harry Kane spared England's blushes, scoring twice late on to send Thomas Tuchel's side through to the last 16 where they will meet Mexico. DR Congo head coach Sebastien Desabre masterminded his side's brave performance with his forward-thinking tactics surprising many observers and catching England out until they finally got a grip of the game.
It was the nation's first appearance in the World Cup since 1974, then known as Zaire, bowing out having also held Portugal to a draw in their opening match and beaten Uzbekistan.
Tragic News Delivered After Match
But the proud moment was accompanied by tragedy with it emerging Desabre's father had passed away. It was unclear when exactly the DR Congo boss had learned of his father's passing but a media officer for the nation confirmed the news at the end of his post-match press conference on Wednesday evening.
Speaking in French, the media officer said: 'Thank you but we are announcing that the coach has lost his father. So sincere condolences.' Desabre's smiling expression immediately changed to one of shock, responding 'thank you' before getting up and leaving.
Desabre's Pride in His Team
Earlier in the press conference, Desabre spoke with pride over his side's performance having led England for over an hour. 'When you represent the national team you have to leave a good image behind and this I believe we did,' said Desabre. 'We are more proud than disappointed. We are disappointed to be leaving the World Cup of course but we scored five goals in the tournament and played much higher-ranked teams and managed good results.'
