{"id":2000116081,"date":"2026-06-18T09:21:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T07:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000116081"},"modified":"2026-06-18T09:21:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T07:21:21","slug":"dr-congo-holds-portugal-to-a-draw-in-world-cup-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/dr-congo-holds-portugal-to-a-draw-in-world-cup-opener\/","title":{"rendered":"DR Congo holds Portugal to a draw in World Cup opener"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Making their first appearance at the tournament since 1974, when the nation competed as Zaire, DR Congo produced a determined display to earn their first-ever World Cup point and frustrate one of the tournament’s favourites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portugal appeared to be cruising after taking an early lead in the sixth minute. Pedro Neto delivered a precise cross into the penalty area, where midfielder Joao Neves rose above the defense to power a header past the Congolese goalkeeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite dominating possession for much of the first half, Portugal struggled to create clear scoring opportunities. Their inability to extend the lead proved costly as DR Congo grew into the contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The African side found their breakthrough deep into first-half stoppage time. Arthur Masuaku whipped in a dangerous cross, and Newcastle United forward Yoane Wissa escaped his marker to head home the equaliser, scoring DR Congo\u2019s first-ever World Cup goal and sending their supporters into celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cristiano Ronaldo, making a record-equalling sixth World Cup appearance at the age of 41, endured a frustrating evening. The Portuguese captain was largely contained by the Congolese defense and missed two promising chances in the second half as Portugal searched for a winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DR Congo nearly completed a remarkable comeback when veteran striker Cedric Bakambu struck the post midway through the second half. Portugal thought they had regained the lead through Joao Cancelo, but the effort was ruled out for offside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the match, Portugal coach Roberto Martinez admitted his side failed to maintain their attacking intent, while DR Congo coach Sebastien Desabre praised his players for their resilience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe didn’t create enough chances and probably we lost that intention of scoring the second goal,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cBut I think it’s more the mentality of getting rid of the weight on the shoulders of the players or wanting to win the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Desabre added: \u201cIt is a step forward for us to have scored this first goal and to have this first point for our country during this World Cup. We gave everything we had against the team of Portugal. We are delighted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result leaves Group K wide open, with Portugal now under pressure to secure victories in their remaining matches against Uzbekistan and Colombia, while DR Congo will take confidence from a historic point earned on football\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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Pedro Neto delivered a precise cross into the penalty area, where midfielder Joao Neves rose above the defense to power a header past the Congolese goalkeeper.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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DR Congo players celebrate wildly after Yoane Wissa\u2019s historic equaliser.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cristiano Ronaldo, making a record-equalling sixth World Cup appearance at the age of 41, endured a frustrating evening. The Portuguese captain was largely contained by the Congolese defense and missed two promising chances in the second half as Portugal searched for a winner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Democratic Republic of Congo marked their long-awaited return to the FIFA World Cup with a memorable performance, holding Portugal to a 1-1 draw in their Group K opener on Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000116087,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[151],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000116081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-editors-choice","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000116087,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/HPMIO3JW4NLX5MOSQGKP5XA6IM.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":960,"height":697,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/HPMIO3JW4NLX5MOSQGKP5XA6IM.jpg","width":960,"height":697},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/HPMIO3JW4NLX5MOSQGKP5XA6IM.jpg","width":960,"height":697},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/HPMIO3JW4NLX5MOSQGKP5XA6IM.jpg","width":960,"height":697},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/HPMIO3JW4NLX5MOSQGKP5XA6IM.jpg","width":960,"height":697},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/06\/HPMIO3JW4NLX5MOSQGKP5XA6IM.jpg","width":960,"height":697}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000116081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000116081"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000116081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000116089,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000116081\/revisions\/2000116089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000116087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000116081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000116081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000116081"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000116081"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000116081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}