DR Congo: Premier League Nations

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90 Minutes At A Time

·31 August 2020

DR Congo: Premier League Nations

The next destination of our alphabetical world tour is the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The second-largest African country by area, DR Congo has been known by its current name since 1997, when it changed from Zaire.

According to the Premier League website, 16 players have represented DR Congo in the Premier League. However, they do not include Arnold Mvuemba, who was born in and capped by France at youth level and is listed as French on the Premier League website, despite playing one match for the DR Congo senior team.

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First Player – Michel Ngonge (Watford; 1999-2000)

After winning promotion to the Premier League in 1998, Michel Ngonge became the first player to represent DR Congo in the Premier League on the opening day of the 1999/2000 season with Watford.

Ngonge scored in a 3-2 loss to Wimbledon on his top-flight debut and though he added four further goals to his tally over the season, the Hornets suffered a miserable campaign and returned to the second tier with just six league wins.

He departed Watford following their relegation, having spent the final months of 99/00 on loan at Huddersfield Town. Born in Belgium, Ngonge appeared twice for the DR Congo national team, once before and once after the name changed from Zaire.

Records

Most appearances – Youssouf Mulumbu (164)
First appearance – Michael Ngonge (WATFORD 2-3 Wimbledon, August 7th 1999)
Most goals – Lomana LuaLua (24)
First goal – Michael Ngonge (WATFORD 2-3 Wimbledon, August 7th 1999)

Current/Most Recent Players

Though three DR Congo players are with Premier League clubs, only West Ham left-back Arthur Masuaku featured in the Premier League last season. The other two are both with Everton, Yannick Bolasie currently out on loan at Sporting Lisbon while youngster Beni Baningime made all of his eight top-flight appearances so far in the 2017/18 season.

Trivia

The 16 (17 if you include Arnold Mvuemba) players to have represented DR Congo in the Premier League were born in six different countries.
Former Norwich and Hull striker Dieumerci Mbokani is the all-time top scorer for the DR Congo national team (18 goals).
In six senior years at Chelsea following his controversial transfer from Lens, Gaël Kakuta made just six Premier League appearances. He made seven during a loan spell with Fulham in 2011.