The Democratic Republic of Congo coach Sebastien Desabre says London-born Aaron Wan-Bissaka has extra motivation to beat England in the last 32 of the World Cup.
The West Ham defender was called up to the England squad by Gareth Southgate in 2019, but had to withdraw through injury and never featured again, choosing to switch his allegiance to DR Congo in 2025.
A year later he is set to face his country of birth in the last-32 tie in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Desabre said: “We have some Premier League players who are familiar, some of them were even born in England and that is always a source of motivation.
“But the number one source of motivation is to play against a serious opponent like England or any other top five in the world. It is hard to find anything more motivating than that.”
The West Ham defender was called up to the England squad by Gareth Southgate in 2019, but had to withdraw through injury and never featured again, choosing to switch his allegiance to DR Congo in 2025.
A year later he is set to face his country of birth in the last-32 tie in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Desabre said: “We have some Premier League players who are familiar, some of them were even born in England and that is always a source of motivation.
“But the number one source of motivation is to play against a serious opponent like England or any other top five in the world. It is hard to find anything more motivating than that.”
4 months ago
