Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, told ESPN that Congo's national team must maintain a 21-day isolation bubble in Belgium or lose the ability to enter the United States for the tournament. The demand follows an outbreak of Bundibugyo Ebola in Congo, which has killed over 130 people and sparked a WHO declaration of public health emergency. FIFA and the Congolese government have received the same message.

Giuliani said the US is monitoring two American doctors in quarantine after Ebola exposure and is considering sending CDC staff to Belgium to check on the team. The CDC has already banned entry for anyone who has been in Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan within the past three weeks. Congo canceled a training camp in Kinshasa and most players remain in France, where they will face Denmark on June 3 and Chile on June 9 before Group K begins.

Congo opens Group K against Portugal in Houston on June 17. President Trump appointed Giuliani to lead the task force last May. If the bubble holds, the team can travel. If it doesn't, the entire roster sits out.