DR Congo coach Desabre said that despite the 1-2 loss to England being disappointing, he was proud of the team's performance and their FIFA World Cup journey.

When asked what he told the players after the match, Desabre said: "We gathered together, and I wanted to thank them for believing in this project from the beginning and for bringing it to one of the most important events in the world. Although there is disappointment in how the game unfolded, I think we played very well in the first half. We also have a responsibility to our fans and to DR Congo. Since we represent the national team, we must leave something for the world to remember when we leave the tournament. I think everyone saw that Congolese football has a certain level, as well as fighting spirit, organization, and resilience, which also represent this country very well."

When asked if they could have done better, Desabre said: "I don't know if we could have done much more. We tried, brought on fresh players, and did our best. As a coach, I analyze the game primarily from a tactical perspective. Today, we used our third tactical system quite well. We have been practicing systems like 4-3-3, 3-5-2, and 4-4-2 extensively over these four years, so I think the overall execution was good, especially our offensive organization in the first half. Later, I have to admit, we created problems for England, forcing them to rely on one of the world's best strikers to score. This is often the case against such strong teams. We did what we needed to do, and I think we achieved almost 100% of what we could have throughout the entire tournament, which is already a victory for us. This will also greatly benefit our young players, as this is their first FIFA World Cup. It's the first tournament for both our coaching staff and players. Their performance should be recognized, and I congratulate my players."

When asked about England's prospects, Desabre said: "I'm not used to focusing on opponents; I focus more on my own team. We have shown that we can create difficulties for them, but they can also respond, which is the hallmark of a strong team. The result is what it is today, so congratulations to our opponents, and I wish them good luck in their upcoming matches. As for what they did well and what they still lack, I believe their coaching staff will analyze that."

When asked whether he felt more pride or disappointment, Desabre said: "We are disappointed to be eliminated because a tournament like the FIFA World Cup is very special. First and foremost, it's disappointment, of course. But as I said, I think we did what we needed to do at this FIFA World Cup, scoring 5 goals and unfortunately conceding 5 goals. Overall, the 4 opponents we faced were all significantly higher than us in the FIFA rankings, but we still competed very well against them."

When asked why they didn't defend deeper and play more on the counter-attack, as outsiders expected, Desabre said: "We wanted to spread out wide when we had possession. That's why we positioned our midfielders closer to the touchline to create space. We knew we had added a technically skilled player in midfield, so we would have more possession, which was one reason. Another was to better block the center and cut off the connection with Anderson, who is very important in England's attacking organization. We decided to have our striker mark him, similar to how Ghana approached Jordan Ayew. In short, it was a tactical choice."

At the end of the press conference, Desabre announced the passing of his father, and all parties offered their condolences.

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