World Cup 2026: Reactions after Portugal – DR Congo, Ronaldo without a shot

After the break, coach Roberto Martínez left Bernardo Silva in the dressing room. In his first appearance after the transfer, the new reinforcement of Real Madrid was particularly visible with a hard tackle, for which he saw a yellow card. Francisco Conceição came on the pitch to bring more width to the game.

But that didn’t help either. Although João Cancelo made waves in the net with beautiful scissors, his impressive strike was not valid for the offside position.

The ever-present João Neves tried to drag Portugal to victory and the biggest danger came from Francisco Conceição’s two actions down the right wing.

Their addressee was Ronaldo in the role of a classic nine, but he could not finish accurately even once.

A historic evening for the Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo returned to the World Cup after 52 long years.

At its premiere in 1974, still under the name Zair, it was a total outsider. In the group, it lost to the former Yugoslavia 0:9 and left the tournament with a record of three losses and a score of 0:14.

The team also became the target of ridicule after a famous moment from the duel with Brazil, when Mwepu Ilunga ran out of the defensive wall and kicked the ball away before the opponent could take a free-kick.

His actions were misinterpreted and ridiculed around the world for many years.

But this time they were writing a completely different story. The Congolese have already indicated their options. Yoane Wissa threatened with a fierce shot that narrowly missed the goal.

Sébastien Desabr’s men initially threatened mainly from a longer distance, but it was felt that they can be dangerous with quick attacks.

And the desired moment came in the last action of the first half.

A hero from Newcastle

Arthur Masuaku sent in a cross from the right and the Portuguese defence, weakened by the injured Rúben Dias, left Yoane Wissa completely free.

The Newcastle striker jumped on the ball and beat the goalkeeper with a sharp header.

He scored the first ever goal of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the history of the World Cup.

This was followed by a dance party in front of their own bench.

And even bigger after the final whistle. Congo scored its first ever point at the World Championships. Moreover, against one of the candidates for the overall triumph.

A historical moment.

One of the unsung heroes of the African team was Steve Kapuadi.

Slovak footprint

The almost two-meter stopper started in the starting line-up of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and played a significant role in the fact that Ronaldo was unable to hit the goal even once. His story also has a significant Slovak footprint.

In the fall of 2019, he worked for Inter in Bratislava, where he played in the third league. Half a year later, he got a taste of the Niké league in the jersey of AS Trenčín, for which he played 23 matches.

In the summer of 2022, he transferred to Wisla Płock as a free agent. Today he is 28 years old, according to the Transfermarkt portal he is worth 2.5 million euros and is a player of Widzewa Lodz.

And he can say he defended Cristiano Ronaldo at the World Cup.

We have resilience and faith

Coach Sébastien Desabre emphasized that his team does not want to be just a participant in the tournament.

“We have prepared well and now we want to represent our country in this group with dignity. After 52 years, it is a great pride and a great pleasure,” he said.

Jonathan, who was the embodiment of joy and pride, joined the chants of “Mbote”, which means “welcome” in Lingala.

“We have resilience and we really believe in our abilities,” he declared.

There were fewer Congolese fans in the stands. Their ranks have been thinned by the African country’s Ebola outbreak, which has prompted a period of isolation and severely limited the number of people traveling to the United States.

It also concerned a well-known supporter nicknamed Lumumba, who was absent this time.

Nevertheless, they managed to create a fantastic atmosphere and unleashed a spectacular celebration after the final whistle.

Martínez: I liked the attitude of the players

Portugal coach Roberto Martínez admitted after the match that his team lost direction after a good start.

“We started the match very well. However, after the goal, our ability to get into the opponent’s penalty area disappeared a bit.

We started to focus only on keeping the ball and were unable to assert ourselves in the final third of the pitch. This gave the Democratic Republic of the Congo the opportunity to consolidate again,” he told Sport TV.

“The goal conceded just before the break came after a set piece. We know that this is a team that can use such moments very well.

This also belongs to the world championships. Now we have to analyze the match and evaluate everything that happened, but I liked the attitude and commitment of the players,” added the Portuguese coach.

For Portugal, this is an unpleasant warning right at the start of the tournament.

For the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an evening that will be remembered for generations.

The country, which 52 years ago symbolized football humiliation, today rewrote its own history. And the team, which was supposed to be limited to numbers, showed the world that it no longer wants to return to the past.