Bermuda interim coach Maurice Lowe was impressed with the fight shown by his players in a 2-0 defeat to 2026 Fifa World Cup hopefuls Democratic Republic of Congo in an international friendly in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Wednesday.

Facing opponents 121 places above them on the Fifa rankings behind closed doors at Estadio Jalisco, the Gombey Warriors fought hard with eight international debutants.

After a spirited display in the first half, Bermuda went into the break trailing 1-0, courtesy of a 45th-minute goal from Fiston Mayele. Newcastle forward Yoane Wissa doubled the lead in the 51st from the penalty spot.

“Our future is bright and this performance and our result is a good launch pad for our next cycle,” Lowe told The Royal Gazette.

“The tactical discipline really impressed me. We set a plan out for the players to follow and they did it, but I was a little disappointed to concede right before half time.

“The penalty against us on a different day may not have been a penalty, but that’s football and overall the players acquitted themselves well.

“I’m super proud of all the players and staff and we had eight players that got their international debut for the senior national team against top opponents.

“They have players that are at West Ham United, Newcastle United, Burnley and Spartak Moscow. Our boys gave a good account of themselves to show that they deserve to play in higher divisions than they actually are.

“Brighton Morrison, Arnezha Astwood, La Zai Outerbridge and Ajani Burchall got their international debut with starts. We then had Senoj Mitchell, Elisha Darrell, Amir Dill and Joshua Joseph coming off the bench for their first appearances for Bermuda.”

English Premier League stars, Wissa and Manchester United youth system graduate Axel Tuanzebe started for the Leopards, together with Arthur Masuaku, who plays for Ligue 1 side RC Lens on loan from Sunderland.

DR Congo used the match as a warm-up for a crucial World Cup qualifier next Tuesday. Sébastien Desabre’s side will play the winner of the match on Friday between New Caledonia and Jamaica, who finished second in a qualifying group that contained Bermuda.

The Central African side have a chance of returning to the global showcase for the first time since 1974.

TEAMS

Bermuda starting XI (4-3-3): M Perot—B Morrison, H Twite, J Carpenter, D Cook—A Astwood, A Todd, L Outerbridge—A Burchall, Z Lewis, D Jones

DR Congo starting XI (4-4-2): L Mpasi — B Bayeye, A Tuanzebe, S Kapuadi, A Masuaku—C Pickel, G Diangana, E Kayembe, E Meschack — Y Wissa, F Mayele