By Nick Said
HOUSTON, June 12 (Reuters) - The Democratic Republic of Congo held an open training session in Houston on Friday in front of an enthusiastic crowd from the local Congolese community as they put behind them concerns over the Ebola virus that hampered their build-up to the World Cup.
The Congolese arrived in the United States on Thursday, one of the last teams to travel, and face Portugal in their Group K opener in Houston on Wednesday. Colombia and Uzbekistan are the other two teams in the pool.
The players were put through their paces by coach Sebastien Desabre in sweltering humidity and under moody skies, but there were only smiles from the players after fans from the local Congolese community cheered as they trained.
Desabre will be pleased to get on with the football after having to move a planned friendly with Chile in Spain to France this week due to fears over the Ebola virus outbreak in the country, which as of Friday had 676 confirmed cases and claimed 136 lives.
"We are focussed on the first game against Portugal and doing well," Desabre said as he spoke briefly with reporters. "All three games are important, but we are not looking past Portugal for now."
The Congolese squad are appearing at their first World Cup since the 1974 finals when they competed as Zaire, with high hopes of going deep into the knockout stages, both from the players and their fans.
"This is a chance for the Congolese community in Houston to come together and celebrate the team," local resident Christina Badibanga told Reuters.
"We want people to see and hear us, and we are all sharing pictures and videos on social media for the people back home (who could not travel to the tournament due to restrictions around the Ebola virus).
"We are excited to participate in the World Cup after so long and show the vibrancy of our culture. This is very important to us, to share it with the world."
The team trained in front of 250 children from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Houston, an organisation that offers after-school programs, mentorship and academic support to over 55,000 young students in the region.
(Reporting by Nick SaidEditing by Toby Davis)
