No fear for DR Congo against Ronaldo-led Portugal, coach says

HOUSTON, June 16 : The Democratic Republic of Congo will take risks, play without fear and look to catch a more fancied Portugal side off-guard in the African nation's first World Cup match in 52 years, coach Sebastien Desabre said on Tuesday.

DR Congo are prepared for the pressure of facing a team led by 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo and will look to take advantage of the fact favoured teams often come out sluggish in opening World Cup matches, he added.

"What we have to do is to deal with the pressure, the pressure of the first game," Desabre said. "I want my team to play, so we'll take risks. Those risks will be measured.

"There's no fear ahead of those big events."

DR Congo played as Zaire when they took part in the 1974 World Cup but lost all three games, conceded 14 goals and scored none.

But this time around they have a squad featuring players who play in competitive leagues in Europe with speedy attackers able to trouble Portugal, Desabre said. A healthy team with all players available provides tactical flexibility, he added.

DR Congo also face Colombia and Uzbekistan in Group K.

"We also have a great strength that we'll be using on the pitch and we're going to get started with our own specific style of play and we are of course highly motivated and we are excited to play against such a big team," he said.

"So there are different options. We will start with one option... and based on the balance of power, we'll see."

Desabre's men had a disrupted build-up to the tournament due to the Ebola virus outbreak back home but with the majority of players based in Europe, preparations were mostly unaffected, the coach said.

Due to travel restrictions, DR Congo also expect fewer travelling fans, something Desabre said would provide extra motivation for players to reach their objective of advancing to the next round.

"We have 100 million Congolese people who will be watching us," Desabre said. "Of course, we want to perform well. We want to show courage. And we'll do our best on the pitch."