The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) produced a spirited performance to hold Portugal to a 1-1 draw in their Group K opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at the NRG Stadium in Houston, USA, on Wednesday night.
Portugal started the match brightly, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes constantly threatening the Leopards’ goal. Their early pressure paid off in the sixth minute when João Neves connected with a pinpoint cross from Pedro Neto, heading the ball past goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi into the far corner to give Portugal a deserved 1-0 lead.
Unfazed by the setback, the Congolese side, making their first World Cup appearance in 52 years, responded with determination. Cedric
Bakambu came close to equalising when his effort was deflected for a corner kick, while Yoane Wissa fired wide in the eighth and 12th minutes, respectively.
The match developed into an entertaining end-to-end contest. Ronaldo and Neves continued to test the DR Congodefensee, while Wissa and Bakambu threatened at the other end. However, Portugal captain Ronaldo endured a frustrating evening as he squandered several scoring opportunities.
Wissa eventually made history in first-half stoppage time when he scored DR Congo’s first-ever FIFA World Cup goal. The 29-year-old forward rose above the Portuguese defenders to head home a cross from left-back Arthur Masuaku, levelling the score at 1-1 moments before the halftime whistle.
Both teams resumed the second half with attacking intent, but goals proved difficult to come by.
Portugal thought they had regained the lead in the 55th minute when João Cancelo found the net with a spectacular bicycle kick. However, the goal was ruled out for offside.
DR Congo also had chances to snatch victory.
Bakambu struck the upright with a goal-bound effort before later shooting wide from a promising position in the 62nd minute. He was eventually replaced by Simon Banza in the 84th minute.
Neither side could find a breakthrough, and the match ended in a hard-fought 1-1 draw.
DR Congo currently top Group K, ahead of Portugal on alphabetical order after both teams collected one point from their opening match.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, another African representative, Algeria, suffered a 3-0 defeat to Argentina in a Group J encounter. Lionel Messi inspired the South Americans with a hat-trick, taking his World Cup tally to 16 goals and drawing level with Germany’s legendary striker, Miroslav Klose.