Afimico Pululu confirms commitment to represent DR Congo

Poland-based forward Afimico Pululu confirmed his intention to play for the DR Congo national team despite failing to make the list for the Leopards’ upcoming games in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying.

Goal machine 🤖

Afimico Pululu’s best #UECL moments 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/VX0I2pG4x3

— UEFA Conference League (@Conf_League) October 2, 2025

The African regional four-team playoff kicks off on Thursday with the Leopards in action against Cameroon in the semifinals. The winner will face either Gabon or Nigeria for Africa’s berth in the inter-continental playoff that will take place next March in Mexico.

After a tremendous 2024-25 season that saw the Jagiellonia Białystok hitman score 19 goals in all competitions, including 8 goals to lead all scorers in the UEFA Conference League, Pululu became the subject of a tug-of-war between the DRC and Angola.

Called into the Angola squad in March, Pululu withdrew citing health reasons. Less than two months later, he was called into the Leopards team by coach Sébastien Desabre after being convinced to change his allegiance by an assistant of Desabre in a shock turnaround. The in-form goal scorer ended up withdrawing due to an injury and has yet to make an appearance for any national team.

Born in Angolan capital Luanda to parents from DR Congo, the now 26-year-old was raised in France and could have represented any of the three countries. After being overlooked by Desabre, Pululu put to rest any notion that he might revert back to representing Angola on social media:

“Yes, the Angolan Federation contacted me recently, and I thank them for their interest. But my position has never changed; my choice was made a long time ago: I want to represent the Democratic Republic of Congo.”

Pululu has continued to produce in the 2025-26 season, helping Jagiellonia to second place so far in the Polish top flight Ekstraklasa with 10 goals in 21 matches across all competitions.