Portugal 1 DR Congo 1
Another World Cup shock from an African nation. I suppose we’ve come to expect this type of result after Cape Verde held Spain to a draw on Monday but yet again a big nation disappoints in their opening game of the tournament, Portugal actually started really well and scored early after Pedro Neto’s cross was met beautifully by Joao Neves who’s header gave Portugal the lead in the 6th minute. From there you feared the worst for DR Congo but they stuck in and actually started to build into the game looking dangerous on the counter through Wissa and Bakambu up top, defensively they looked comfortable giving Portugal very little after the goal in a first half that Portugal would have been disappointed with. Even more so when on the verge of half-time Arthur Masuaku’s cross found Wissa with oceans of space in the box who headed home to pull DR Congo level five minutes into added time, Roberto Martinez had to make changes at half-time and did subbing on Francisco Conceicao for Bernardo Silva but Portugal really struggled to create anything clear-cut in a dreadful second half for one of the favourites. An xG of 0.65 for Portugal in a game you’d expect them to win comfortably with all due respect to DR Congo, not an ideal start to the campaign.
What a moment for DR Congo. You couldn’t help but be happy for the Congo after scoring their first ever World Cup goal and holding Portugal to the draw in a game they actually could have won in the end with a bit more composure, defensively they were absolutely superb with the like of Mbemba, Tuanzebe and Wan-Bissaka in particular impressing to lock the Portugal attack up. I feel like this was a perfect game for Aaron Wan-Bissaka where he doesn’t need to attack too much but can easily keep his winger quiet all game which he did brilliantly, the front two of Bakambu and Wissa also had great games with Wissa’s goal culminating what had been some great pressure from Congo. Although we haven’t seen him much for Newcastle this year you can tell he’s back to full fitness for the World Cup which might of been his plan all along, all they need to do now is beat Uzbekistan and they’ll be into the Round of 32. Not many would have saw that coming.
A terrible start to the tournament for Portugal. After Joao Neves’ opener I thought the floodgates would open but similar to Spain on Monday they moved the ball far too slow and let DR Congo build momentum on the counter, in terms of player performances I thought Bernardo Silva was terrible along with Vitinha who I’m surprised wasn’t taken off sooner for an attacker when Portugal needed a goal. I think we all know by know that Cristiano Ronaldo shouldn’t be starting up front in 2026 especially after the disaster Euros in 2024 when he didn’t even score, I absolutely love Ronaldo as a player but at 41 years old he’s only harming his legacy by continuing to start for Portugal at major tournaments. Defensively I thought Portugal looked shaky as well getting hit with transitions but I suppose it’s to be expected with a centre-back partnership of Renato Veiga and Tomas Araujo, big problems now for Portugal who will have to probably beat Colombia to top the group.
Roberto Martinez is holding Portugal back. Just like he did with Belgium’s golden generation I don’t see Portugal winning anything with Roberto Martinez at the helm, I’m not counting the Nations League as a major international trophy despite Portugal winning it last year there’s only two trophies that matter at international level for Portugal. The biggest problem Roberto Martinez has is that he tries to keep the best players happy which in turn means someone has to play out of position like Bernardo Silva today who was horrific but he was playing on the right-wing where he clearly can’t play anymore, the Ronaldo one says it all but I’m not overly surprised he plays because Roberto Martinez wouldn’t be in charge if he didn’t play him which I think tells you Portugal’s biggest problem. Will he make big changes in their next game against Uzbekistan? I’d be shocked if he didn’t.
This result throws the group wide open. A win for Colombia later on tonight would do wonders for their chances of finishing 1st in this group now with Portugal drawing their first game, it will most likely be Uzbekistan battling it out with DR Congo for 3rd but with this result you’d be surprised if the Congo didn’t at least finish 3rd. A win against Uzbekistan would take them through to the knockouts for the first time in their history, maybe the extended format isn’t as bad as people were saying before the tournament?