Belgium's Congolese heartland sees victory in defeat

BRUSSELS — The Matongé area of Brussels was filled with drums and flags on Wednesday evening as every bar and barber shop showed the DR Congo vs. England game — the biggest Congolese match since 1974, when it won the African Cup of Nations and competed in the World Cup under the name Zaire. Belgium's relationship with DR Congo is rooted in its colonial rule, a legacy that continues to shape political, cultural and diplomatic ties today. Up to 50,000 members of the Congolese diaspora live in Brussels, with the vibrant Matongé as the epicenter. English fans in Matongé were few and far between — and mainly silent — throughout most of the match as their team trailed for a long period before turning the game around. Despite Congo’s eventual narrow defeat, supporters were stoked by the team’s performance. "At the end of the day Congo was better than England because they overperformed and England underperformed,” said Darshan Pham, whose family hails from DR Congo. “That’s the beauty of the games, it’s a victory for them anyway because they made it so far.” Sydney Jadot, who worked for five years in DR Congo where his family is from, also admired the team’s fight: “What can I say? I think Congo fought well — they put all their hearts [into it] and England is more thorough.”