From Manchester United Rejects To World Cup Heroes: A Defensive Duo's Remarkable Story

From Manchester United Rejects To World Cup Heroes: A Defensive Duo's Remarkable Story

It feels like everyone that steps away from Old Trafford is destined for greatness. Whether that be for club or country, there is a stigma attached to Red Devils players who leave the club and instantly raise their performance levels, as the shackles are loosened from the pressures of playing for one of the sport's biggest entities.

We've seen Rasmus Hojlund be the latest export out of Man United to demonstrate his qualities, currently in the form of his life under Conte's watch at Napoli, as well as starring for his country. But unlike Hojlund, two players who have been quietly going about their business this international break deserve the most praise for helping their country to the brink of World Cup qualification for the first time in 51 years.

Rasmus Hojlund's last 4 games for club and country:

⚽️ 6 goals
🅰️ 1 assist

Back to his best so far this season 👏 pic.twitter.com/gMawSuDCxU

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 12, 2025

"Don't You (Forget About Me)"

The African World Cup qualifiers have failed to disappoint. We've already seen Cape Verde qualify for their first-ever World Cup finals, losing just once in their 10 qualifying games and beating Cameroon in the process.

Another overlooked African nation has given itself a real chance of joining them in North America next summer - the Democratic Republic of the Congo have not featured in the World Cup since 1974 when they were named 'Zaire'. In all honesty, the Congolese haven't really been close to qualifying since then... until now.

Their squad is looking the strongest it ever has for half a century, and part of their recent success is down to a defensive duo who will be familiar to Manchester United fans. Aaron Wan Bissaka and Axel Tuanzebe have been integral in helping DR Congo win their most recent qualifiers against Togo and Sudan, with the pair posing as half of a back four who kept a clean sheet in both of these games.

[𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 🏃🏾‍♂️]

📸 Quatrième séance d’entraînement de nos léopards 🐆 à Abidjan 🇨🇮 !

🔜 10/10 : 🇨🇩 🆚 🇹🇬 #RDC #Fecofa #WCQ2026 pic.twitter.com/IVjzvMKDaq

— Congolese Football News (@CongoleseFNews) October 8, 2025

Part of a defensive unit that also included former Newcastle star Chancel Mbemba and Sunderland left back Arthur Masuaku, this could be a back line we could get used to seeing on our screens come the summer. Despite Tuanzebe having a frustrating start to the campaign with new side Burnley, having suffered a minor injury in pre-season, the return of the former Red Devils prospect this month was a timely one for DR Congo.

Tuanzebe has been incredibly unfortunate with injuries throughout his career, even sued his former side, United, because of the part they played in this. He blamed the physio staff at Carrington for victimising the defender with clinical negligence, as his injury complications have not improved since his departure from the red side of Manchester. He featured 18 times for Ipswich in their Championship title-winning campaign two seasons ago, before joining the Clarets on a free transfer in the summer.

🚨 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: Axel Tuanzebe is suing Manchester United for ‘clinical negligence’ due to medical advice they gave him.

(Source: @TeleFootball) pic.twitter.com/PvZRyrSGfD

— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) July 14, 2025

Wan Bissaka, on the other hand, has been part of a struggling West Ham side for the last year. He joined the Hammers in a difficult period, having parted ways with their most successful manager in years, David Moyes, just the season before. The new era hasn't exactly gone to plan, and it's been challenging for the man nicknamed "The Spider" or any player for that matter to perform well this season.

Playing for his country will only shape Wan Bissaka into a more complete player, and working under Nuno Espirito Santo, who had an impressive defensive record with Forest, will be endlessly beneficial to the 27-year-old's game as he is entering his prime years of his career.

A Huge Boost For The Country

After realising the probability of playing for England was slim, the pair would switch their allegiance to the Central African Nation. Tuanzebe was born in DR Congo but moved to England at a young age, where he would represent the Three Lions at U19, U20 and U21 levels.

Wan Bissaka was born in Croydon but is eligible to play for DR Congo through his parents. He represented both countries at youth level and received his first senior England call-up by Southgate in 2019 for the EURO Qualifiers against Kosovo and Bulgaria. He had to withdraw from the squad due to sustaining a back injury. As a result of the competition in his position, he was never recalled to the England setup again.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Axel Tuanzebe have held 'positive' talks over representing DR Congo at international level. [@leopard243] #MUFC pic.twitter.com/q4Z1kHg2wT

— MUFC Scoop (@MUFCScoop) March 27, 2023

The right-back won more tackles (80) than any defender in the Premier League in his debut season with Manchester United, but this still didn't warrant an international debut for England, with Southgate instead opting for full backs with more attacking qualities, such as Reece James, Keiran Trippier, and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

It was only natural that West Ham's no. 29 started to consider switching allegiance to DR Congo. This decision was not approved until six years after his withdrawal from his only call-up to the England squad. His first inclusion in the Congolese squad came in June this year, for friendly clashes with Mali and Madagascar. It was as recent as September when Wan Bissaka made his competitive debut for his country in their World Cup qualifier against South Sudan, following the approval of his citizenship.

West Ham’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka represented DR Congo in their World Cup qualifier against South Sudan in Juba.

The Leopards won 4-1#WorldCupQualifiers pic.twitter.com/SEkUfwYufs

— Carol Radull (@CarolRadull) September 6, 2025

Tuanzebe received his first call-up just a year prior to his international teammate. He was initially part of the provisional 2023 squad that DR Congo announced for AFCON that year, but he later had to withdraw through, you guessed it, injury. He debuted in his country's first meeting with Senegal in World Cup qualification, holding the Lions of Terranga to a 1-1 draw in June last year.

Primarily known as a centre during his days at Old Trafford, Tuanzebe has now become a very versatile defender, often playing as a full-back, where he was deployed in his international debut last year. He even played as a left back against Togo last week and looked unfazed, producing a strong performance and a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory.

📸 - Former Reds Tuanzebe and Wan-Bissaka now representing DR Congo 🇨🇩❤️ pic.twitter.com/LTuuX24UYx

— UtdTruthful (@Utdtruthful) September 8, 2025

With other Premier League talent, including Yoane Wissa, Noah Sadiki, and Arthur Masuaku as well as the experienced Real Betis frontman Cedric Bakambu, the squad have real quality and will fancy their chances of getting over the final hurdle in the play-offs.

The Drama of a Play-offs Awaits

DR Congo have finished second in their group, losing just once and conceding only six times in their 10 games. However, they still have work to do in order to be in the hat for the World Cup that kicks off next June. They first must triumph in a tournament that includes the four best second-placed teams from the CAF World Cup qualifying groups.

The Congolese will face Cameroon in the semi-final of the mini tournament, with Nigeria against Gabon in the other fixture. Dr Congo would have to win this tournament in November, which would still not guarantee their World Cup status. They'd then have to compete in the Inter Confederation play-off tournament, where two World Cup places are up for grabs.

The African World Cup qualifying playoffs are stacked:

🇳🇬 Nigeria vs. Gabon 🇬🇦
🇨🇲 Cameroon vs. DR Congo 🇨🇩

Winners face off for CAF’s spot in the interconfederation playoff tournament ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/JztOKbJClV

— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 14, 2025

The final play-off tournament includes six nations: two from Concacaf and one team each from the AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL and OFC. The two highest-ranked teams automatically go straight to the bracket finals. This would be unlikely for DR Congo, who are currently ranked 60th in the FIFA standings.

The final tournament takes place in March, and should DR Congo make it through their regional play-off to this stage, it would follow an intense AFCON competition that begins in December. It feels like a very harsh system that FIFA has deployed for qualification this time around.

Against All odds

So it's four games that separate DR Congo from competing for the Jules Rimet trophy next summer. Should they defy the odds and achieve the most incredible feat their country could wish for, they'd sure not want to waste such an opportunity. With the most talented pool of players at their disposal in living memory, the Democratic Republic of the Congo have a point to prove.

If Wan Bissaka and Tuanzebe can produce similiar form to that of their most recent international performances, then they will have every chance of making their dream a reality.