Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, confirmed on Saturday (AEST) that the Congo delegation needed to maintain a bubble where it is training in Belgium and isolate for 21 days or risk being denied entry after a deadly outbreak of the Ebola virus in the central African country.

The Congo team is to be based in Houston at the tournament and will play an opening Group K fixture against Portugal on 18 June (AEST), followed by matches against Colombia on 24 June (AEST) in Guadalajara, Mexico, and against Uzbekistan on 28 June (AEST) in Atlanta.

"We've been very clear to Congo that they should maintain the integrity of their bubble for 21 days before they can then come to Houston on June 11," Giuliani said.

"We've made it very clear to the Congo government as well that they need to maintain that bubble or they risk not being able to travel to the United States. We cannot be any clearer."

But a Congo team spokesperson said that at this stage there was no change to its schedule in the coming weeks, which includes a friendly against Denmark in Liege, Belgium, on 4 June (AEST) and another against Chile in Cadiz, Spain, six days later.

The team had planned a three-day trip to Kinshasa next week as a celebratory send-off before heading to its first FIFA World Cup in 52 years but that was cancelled before the United States warning.

"We have kept our training programme. No player in the squad has come from DR Congo," the official said.

"The friendly matches are still scheduled. The only modification to the programme has been the cancellation of the Kinshasa leg."

The entire squad of players is based outside DR Congo, mostly in Europe, including coach Sebastien Desabre. A few team officials arrived at the training camp in Belgium from the country earlier this week.

The World Health Organisation has raised to "very high" the risk of the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola turning into a national outbreak in Congo and has declared the outbreak there and in neighbouring Uganda an emergency ​of international concern.

Nearly 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths have been recorded since the outbreak in Congo.