June 18, 2026 • Houston Stadium
Yoane Wissa headed DR Congo level in first-half stoppage time, giving the Leopards their first World Cup goal since 1974
Image Credit: Leonardo AI
last World Cup goal
equalizer
in 90 minutes
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Portugal led for 45 minutes. Then Arthur Masuaku swung in a late corner, and Yoane Wissa got above his marker and headed the ball into the top-left corner. It was DR Congo's first World Cup goal since 1974. The half ended 1-1. The second 45 minutes didn't change a thing.
The last time DR Congo competed as Zaire played at a World Cup, Pelé had just retired from international football. They were eliminated in the group stage without a point. For 52 years, they watched the tournament from the outside.
When they qualified for 2026 by beating Jamaica in the play-off final, it was already a story. When they walked out in Houston against Portugal on Wednesday, it became even bigger. When Wissa's header went in at 45+4', it became something they'll talk about for a very long time.
Portugal went ahead inside six minutes
Roberto Martinez's side did exactly what you'd expect from a team that scored 20 goals in six qualifying matches. They pressed high from the off, won the ball quickly, and were in front before most fans had finished their first drink.
Goal • Portugal
6'
João Neves glanced a header past the keeper after Pedro Neto found him with a precise cross into the box. The assist was clean, the finish cleaner.
With the lead established that early, Portugal did what top European sides do: they controlled. Not with urgency, not with ambition, just with calm possession and a high defensive line that kept Congo pinned back.
Bernardo Silva was booked at 13 minutes for a foul that set the physical tone of the match. Congo's Chancel Mbemba followed at 32'. The midfield battle was scrappy throughout, both sides fouling regularly in their own halves, the referee from Qatar busy with his notebook and his whistle.
Cristiano Ronaldo, making his record sixth World Cup appearance, was central to Portugal's attacking shape but couldn't find a way through. This was not the electric opener he or anyone in the Seleção camp had imagined.
Then the half ended, but the game didn't
DR Congo had created next to nothing. The board was showing deep into stoppage time. The game, for all practical purposes, was decided by halftime.
Sebastien Desabre's side had a set piece in a decent position. Arthur Masuaku stepped up. He swung the ball in from the left, hard and high, into a crowded penalty area.
Yoane Wissa
Header, 5 meters out. Assist: Arthur Masuaku. Top left of the net.
DR Congo's first World Cup goal since 1974.
Portugal had no time to respond. The whistle went roughly 30 seconds later. They walked into the tunnel at 1-1, having led by a goal for the entirety of the first half without ever looking threatened until the very last moment of it.
The second half produced noise but no goals
Portugal came out for the second half with Francisco Conceição on for Bernardo Silva. The change gave them more directness. It didn't give them a goal.
Both benches emptied over the next 45 minutes. Congo made five changes in total. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who had started at right back, came off at 85'. Portugal brought on Rafael Leão and Gonçalo Ramos in search of a winner; neither found one.
Key substitutions
VAR confirmed a Portugal corner at 52' that came to nothing. Nuno Mendes took a knock around the hour mark, briefly went down, then continued. Nelson Semedo, who replaced him at 72', was booked at 88'. Tomás Araújo joined him in the referee's book at 90+1'. Portugal ended the game rattled, two defenders carded in the closing minutes, Congo DR running down the clock with the composure of a side that had just done something historic.
What it means
For Portugal, a draw at home to Group K's clear underdogs is a bad start. Not a crisis, 48 teams now progress past the group stage, and Portugal has enough quality to recover, but a missed opportunity. Their next two matches against Colombia and Uzbekistan will demand better than this.
For DR Congo, a point is worth more than the table will show. They arrived in Houston having not played a World Cup in 52 years, not having scored a World Cup goal in their entire history, and facing a European powerhouse in their opener. They leave with a point, a goal, and a moment that Wissa will be asked about for the rest of his career.
The scoreline is 1-1. The distance between what those two numbers mean for each side is considerable.