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Sebastien Desabre
NEED TO KNOW
- Congo announced that head coach Sébastien Desabre's father had died following the team's loss to England in the World Cup on Wednesday
- The 49-year-old French coach appeared surprised when a team official made the announcement to members of the media following his press conference
- Congo lost to England 2-1 after leading much of the match on Wednesday
Shortly after its heartbreaking loss to England in the World Cup, the Democratic Republic of Congo announced that head coach Sébastien Desabre’s father had recently died.
The shocking announcement on Wednesday, July 1 came from a team media official who shared that Desabre’s dad had passed away just as the coach’s press conference was wrapping up following his team’s 2-1 loss to England.
Desabre did not mention his father’s death during the press conference and appeared surprised when the team’s media official wrapped up the press conference by mentioning his father’s death, according to video shared online.
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Sebastien Desabre
"Are there any further questions?" the team’s media officer asked in French before shutting down the press conference. "Thank you, but we are announcing that the coach has lost his father. So, our sincere condolences."
Desabre, a 49-year-old French manager who has coached Congo’s men’s national soccer team since 2022, appeared to stare at the official before adding a "merci" to the assembled reporters and walking off the media podium.
It’s unclear whether Desabre was simply looking at the media official for direction on whether he could leave the press conference, or if he was upset with the team official announcing his father’s death to the media.
Throughout the press conference, Desabre said he was “proud” of his players for their performance at the 2026 World Cup. It was just the second time Congo had qualified for the tournament in its history, and the team was on the cusp of one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history as it led England 1-0 for much of Wednesday’s match before conceding two late goals to English captain Harry Kane.
“We are more proud than disappointed,” Desabre, a father of two, told reporters, according to Reuters. “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."
Desabre added: “We managed to corner England but they reacted and that is the capacity of these big teams. It took the best striker in the world to save them and that’s what happens against these big nations. We did what we could, we were close to winning but it can also been seen as a victory of sorts for us.”
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Sebastien Desabre
The tournament comes to an end for Congo after a surprise draw with Portugal in the group stage helped propel them to the knockout round, where they nearly upset England in Atlanta, Ga.
“When you represent the national team you have to leave a good image behind and this I believe we did," Desabre said proudly, moments before the revelation of his father’s death.
The World Cup continues Thursday with three more Round of 32 games, including Spain vs. Austria, Portugal vs. Croatia and Switzerland vs. Algeria.
Read the original article on People
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