The Democratic Republic of Congo secured their place in the next phase of the 2026 World Cup after beating Uzbekistan 3-1 on Saturday night (27), at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in Atlanta, United States,
The match started adversely for the Congolese, who lost at the beginning of the initial stage. Uzbek Eldor Shomurodov received a pass over the top on the left of the box, unmarked, and made the first pass, beating goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi-Nzau.
Congo responded with a move built on the left: Brian Cipenga started from the baseline and found Nathanael Mbuku, who dominated and finished in the corner. The goal, however, was disallowed by referee Felix Zwayer after a VAR review, which identified a foul by Mbuku at the beginning of the play.
The second stage brought the Congolese reaction. In the 20th minute, the referee awarded a penalty after Abdukodir Khusanov hit Yoane Wissa inside the box during an attempt to dominate. Wissa himself took the penalty and converted with precision, displacing goalkeeper Abduvokhid Nematov to tie the match.
The turning point came in the 32nd minute: after a missed shot by Meschack Elia, Fiston Mayele — who had come on for Cédric Bakambu — finished over the opposing goalkeeper to score the second Congolese goal.
In stoppage time, in the 45th minute of the second half, Yoane Wissa ended any possibility of an Uzbek reaction by hitting from outside the area, placing the ball in Nematov’s left corner and scoring his second goal of the match.
With the result, DR Congo ended the first phase with four points — the result of a victory, a draw and a defeat — and secured third place in Group K, .
Uzbekistan, in turn, ended its participation in the competition without scoring, with three defeats in three games and 11 goals conceded throughout the group stage, ending the Central Asian team’s debut in the World Cup.
