The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) national team has finally arrived in the United States for the World Cup, after being forced to spend three weeks in quarantine in Europe due to an Ebola outbreak in their home country.

The squad landed on a flight from Paris on Thursday after US authorities insisted they serve the quarantine period in Belgium or risk being denied entry for the tournament.

Head coach Sebastien Desabre expressed hope that his team would put on a good performance and bring some joy to their compatriots dealing with the virus outbreak. "It has been a while since the people have seen the team at the World Cup," the Frenchman said.

DRC, who qualified for their first World Cup since 1974 when they featured as Zaire, canceled a planned pre-tournament training camp at home due to the Ebola outbreak and based themselves in Belgium instead.

Preparations were further disrupted when a planned friendly against Chile in Spain was canceled over fears of virus spread. "We adapted to the situation. We worked well, played two tough friendlies, and here we are," Desabre said.

The team will be based in Houston, where they play their first Group K match on June 17 against Portugal. They then head to Guadalajara to face Colombia on June 23 before playing Uzbekistan in Atlanta on June 28.

Source: www.aljazeera.com