There is a deeper, darker background to this story than is evident from simply watching Mwepu Ilunga kick the ball away at a ...

The 1974 World Cup was an extreme example of the ways that politics of historically intersected with soccer's biggest showcase ...

Fifty two years ago, a defender named Mwepu Ilunga broke from a defensive wall and booted a Brazilian free kick down the pitch before the referee had blown his whistle. The clip became a punchline.

When the famous “The Rumble in the Jungle” fight in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) was announced in 1974, it was universally recognized as having the potential to be the ...

The Leopards of Zaire (now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo) qualified for the 1974 World Cup held in West Germany. The former leader of Zaire, president Mobutu, was elected in 1965 after the ...

Few football teams, perhaps none, at either international or club level are so defined by one moment as Zaire - particularly when that moment isn't even a goal, a save, or a tackle, but a yellow card.

We count down to the FIFA World Cup 2026™ by showing a wonder goal each day. Today’s shows a patented Rivellino piledriver for Brazil against Zaire in 1974. 59 days to go...59 days to go... We’re ...