Arthur Masuaku is part of a DR Congo side that left Portugal with a 1-1 draw and its first point in World Cup history. Yoane Wissa scored on the cusp of half-time, turning a deficit into a result that keeps Group K tight before Tuesday night in Guadalajara.
Guadalajara after Matchday 1
Colombia and the DR Congo now meet in Guadalajara on Tuesday night after both opened World Cup play with positive results. Colombia beat Uzbekistan 3-1 in Matchday 1, while the DR Congo answered João Neves’s early header for Portugal with Wissa’s equalizer before the break.
That sequence leaves Colombia with a direct route to the knockouts. A win over the DR Congo would secure its spot before taking on Portugal in Matchday 3, so Néstor Lorenzo’s team does not need help if it finishes the job on Tuesday.
Yoane Wissa and Portugal
The draw was more than a point. It was the first time the DR Congo had scored at the World Cup since competing as Zaire in 1974, and it showed the team can absorb an early setback and still leave stronger opposition frustrated.
“the DR Congo certainly has the capacity to frustrate and potentially hold Los Cafeteros.” Lorenzo said. He also pointed to Wissa’s threat, calling him “A sharp-shooting Yoane Wissa—a.k.a. not the iteration we’ve seen at Newcastle United—can be very dangerous.”
For Colombia, the task is now simple on paper and harder on the field. It has the points, the clean route to qualification, and a rival that has already taken something from Portugal, so the match in Guadalajara should tell far more about Group K than the opening scores alone.
