World Cup 2026 Day 7: Group K Recap

Group K of the World Cup features a heavy favorite in Portugal, a dark horse in Colombia, an emerging golden generation in Uzbekistan, and the DR Congo making its first appearance since 1974.

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group K - Portugal v DR Congo - Houston Stadium, Houston, Texas, U.S. - June 17, 2026.General view inside the stadium as the teams line up before the match REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

Annegret Hilse

World Cup Group K - Matchday 1

Portugal 1 - 1 DR Congo 

After a lot of discourse about whether he would start or come off the bench, Cristiano Ronaldo did, in fact, start up top for Portugal in their opening match of this World Cup. 

It only took six minutes for Portugal to strike first against DR Congo. A cross-field passing sequence towards Joao Cancelo gave the right-back plenty of room to set up a scoring chance. DR Congo cleared his attempt, but Pedro Neto got the ball back, delivered it into the box from the left, and Joao Neves headed it into the top-right corner. 

Portugal started in a 4-2-3-1 with Neves, Vitinha, and Bruno Fernandes in the midfield. Arguably, the strongest midfield in the entire tournament started with its stars, and it paid off quickly. 

Portugal's Joao Neves scores their first goal past DR Congo's Lionel Mpasi

Phil Noble

Portugal was playing it safe after going up 1-0, but it bit them right before halftime. Yoane Wissa scored the equalizer for DR Congo in the 45+5'. Congo played a corner short via Ngal Ayel Mukau and Arthur Masuaku. Mukau whipped a cross into the crowded box, and Wissa, who is only 5'9", connected with the header to bring the match level. 

Despite Neves' goal, Portugal managed just 0.07 xG in the first half. DR Congo produced 0.49. 

DR Congo's Yoane Wissa scores their first goal past Portugal's Diogo Costa

Phil Noble

The second half was one-sided in favor of Portugal. During halftime, Roberto Martínez subbed off Bernardo Silva for Francisco Coneição in hopes of adding more creativity. Portugal dominated possession but was too predictable for the Congo. 

The Congo started to become dangerous about 15 minutes in. Their midfield started to win more balls, were more aggressive on the counterattack, and held firm in a low 5-3-2 block. Portugal started to push again in the final 15 minutes, but just didn't have any quality whatsoever. Portugal was fine with possession but looked completely lost and lacked any identity. 

Wissa remained the Congo's most dangerous player in the second half despite the game finishing 1-1. He set the tone for his side en route to their first-ever point in a World Cup. 

For Portugal, there is no issue with a draw. The issue lies in execution. 

Uzbekistan 1-3 Colombia

General view inside the stadium of giant Uzbekistan and Colombia flags on the pitch before the match

Henry Romero

Colombia couldn't have asked for a better first half in their first World Cup since 2018. They were all over Uzbekistan from the first whistle to the end of the first 45 minutes. They dominated possession, shot attempts, chance creations, tempo, and everything else you can think of. 

Luis Díaz came so close to giving Colombia the lead in the 32nd minute, but his shot hit the right post. But he didn't have to live with that feeling for long. 

Colombia's Camilo Vargas in action

Raquel Cunha

In the 40th minute, Colombia finally struck, and it was because of Díaz. Daniel Muñoz started sprinting his way into the box, and Díaz clipped a ridiculous pass into the box for Muñoz to finish. You couldn't draw up a better playmaking sequence from Díaz. 

In the second half, Uzbekistan found some juice. In the 60th minute, Abbosbek Fayzullayev scored the first World Cup goal in Uzbek history. Eldor Shomurodov met a shot with a perfect volley that Colombian goalkeeper Camilo Vargas just got enough of, but it ended up being pushed into the post. After a ricochet off the face of the goal, Fayzullayev was in the right spot for an easy tap with the head and in the net. 

Colombia's Luis Diaz celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates

Henry Romero

Uzbekistan wasn't able to soak in the glory of scoring a goal in their World Cup debut for long. Just five minutes later, Díaz put Colombia back in the lead. After a mismanaged throw-in from the Uzbeks, Gustavo Puerta set up a quick counterattack and found Díaz in the box, who hit the ball first-time and into the net for the 2-1 lead.

Jaminton Campaz added the dagger in the 90+9. A crazy 1v1 on the right side featuring Juan Hernández saw the player send a beautiful cross across the wing that landed right on Campaz's foot for him to finish. Game. Set. Match. 

Day 7, Group K, Round-up:

Colombia comes out of matchday one in Group K as the top team, with a huge three points. The big story, though, is that DR Congo is on a point after their stunning draw with Portugal; will we see a favorite fall and an underdog rise? Uzbekistan will have its work cut out for it as the only  team without points.

We are now through the first matchday for all the teams at the World Cup! Day eight is next, and that's when teams begin matchday two. We will learn a whole lot more about the teams that will push for the knockout rounds in this coming set of matches over the next week.