A start that held greater promise

Portugal kicked off their 2026 World Cup campaign on Wednesday against DR Congo in the opening match of Group K.

Before kick-off, the European side were tipped by many as clear favourites. Portugal currently sit 7th in the FIFA rankings and are competing in their ninth World Cup. The DR Congo, meanwhile, are ranked 43rd and are taking part in only their second World Cup – their first since 1974, ending a wait of more than 50 years.

As well as the difference in experience, Portugal boast a squad packed with stars. Ten players in the current squad have been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, including three who were also in contention for the Kopa Trophy. Among them is Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time winner of the award and one of the greatest names football has ever produced. In goal, Diogo Costa has also been nominated for the Yashin Trophy. By contrast, so far, no player from the DR Congo has been nominated for these awards.

João Neves makes history

And everything suggested that Portugal’s favouritism would be confirmed early on. Just six minutes into the match, Chelsea winger Pedro Neto sent a dangerous cross into the box. João Neves, a Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, rose higher than the Congolese defence and headed the ball into the right-hand corner to open the scoring.

The move is all the more remarkable given the physical stature of the opposition: the DR Congo defence averages almost 1.88 m in height, whilst Neves stands at just 1.74 m.

Twice nominated for the Kopa Trophy and nominated for the Ballon d’Or for the first time last year, Neves also made history with the goal. The midfielder became the third-youngest player to score for Portugal at a World Cup, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo in 2006 and Gonçalo Ramos in 2022. He had already taken to the pitch as the youngest central midfielder to start a World Cup match for the Portuguese national team.

The Congolese defensive wall

But despite the promising start, Roberto Martínez’s side struggled to break down the Congolese defence throughout the match. The ‘Leopards’ organised themselves into a compact 5-3-2 defensive system, sacrificing possession – they finished the match with just 25 per cent – and yet still won 60 per cent of their ground duels, neutralising almost all of Portugal’s attacks.

And their resilience was finally rewarded just before half-time, when left-back Arthur Masuaku crossed for Newcastle United striker Yoane Wissa, who found himself unmarked in the box and headed home the equaliser.

A goal for the ages

The goal went down in history as the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s first ever at a World Cup. The country had previously taken part in the tournament in 1974, when it was still known as Zaire, but had a campaign best forgotten: three defeats, 14 goals conceded and none scored.

The African side still created good opportunities to turn the game around in the second half, but failed to convert their chances into goals. Portugal also found the net with a bicycle kick from João Cancelo, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

Portugal left without answers

Although they controlled possession for most of the match, the Euro 2016 champions struggled to impose their rhythm and recorded one of the lowest numbers of shots on target in their World Cup history.

Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner and 18-time nominee for the award, also put in a lacklustre performance and failed to add to his impressive tally of 143 goals for the Portuguese national team.

Cristiano Ronaldo sets a new record

Even so, the number 7 left the pitch with yet another record to his name. At 41 years and 132 days, he became the oldest player to start a World Cup match (excluding goalkeepers). Furthermore, he joined an extremely select group: only he and Lionel Messi have played in six editions of the tournament. The Argentine, winner of eight Ballon d’Or awards, scored a hat-trick against Algeria yesterday and drew level with Miroslav Klose at the top of the all-time World Cup scoring charts, with 16 goals.

Another surprise

This draw was certainly not the result Portugal had hoped for, but it is far from being the only surprise of this World Cup so far. In less than a week of competition, we have already seen unlikely results such as the 1–1 draw between Qatar and Switzerland, the goalless draw between Spain and Cape Verde, Belgium’s 1–1 draw against Egypt and another draw by the same score between Uruguay and Saudi Arabia.

What lies ahead?

Portugal will be looking to bounce back in their two remaining group stage matches. The team face Uzbekistan on 23 June and round off their Group K campaign against Colombia on 27 June.