The Portuguese national team began its World Cup campaign on Wednesday with a disappointing draw against the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1-1) at NRG Stadium in Houston, where it faltered after taking the lead six minutes into the game on a goal by Joao Neves.
Yoane Wissa equalized with a header just before halftime, and Congo—making its return to the World Cup 52 years after its last appearance—had the best chance to win the match after the break, when Cedric Bakambu hit the post.
Cristiano missed his chances
Portugal, which was in Group K along with Uzbekistan and Colombia, lacked momentum.
And Cristiano Ronaldo, in his sixth World Cup, failed to capitalize on his two scoring chances, both of which came after halftime.
The national team, led by Spanish coach Roberto Martínez, will return to Houston next week to face Uzbekistan.
In a game that could already be crucial for their future in the tournament.
Congo, for its part, will face Colombia on the second matchday.
In a stadium packed with Cristiano Ronaldo’s No. 7 jerseys, Portugal came out swinging.
It took just six minutes for Joao Neves to break the tie.
With a perfect header off a cross from the left wing by Pedro Neto.
But that strong start would turn out to be nothing more than a pipe dream (Filed under: Portugal stumbles in its World Cup opener).
After a promising start, Portugal fizzled out
The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder celebrated by pointing to the sky, a tribute to former Portuguese international Diogo Jota.
He died tragically last year in a car accident.
Portugal had the game under control, but began to lose its momentum after dominating the first fifteen minutes.
Bernardo Silva received a yellow card just twelve minutes into the game and barely made an impact on the right wing.
Bruno Fernandes was also unable to pick up the pace in midfield.
With its slow, lateral style of play, Portugal failed to threaten Congo, which stayed in the game and scored on its last chance of the first half.
Wissa capitalized on a cross from Arthur Masuaku in the fifth minute of stoppage time to tie the game at 1-1.
The Congolese fans at NRG Stadium went wild (Filed under: Portugal stumbles in its World Cup opener).
Cancelo’s disallowed goal reflected Portugal’s frustrating afternoon
Roberto Martínez took Bernardo out and brought in Francisco Conceiçao after halftime.
But Portugal continued to lack rhythm and was unable to play the ball forward against Congo’s five-man block.
Cancelo watched as the linesman disallowed a bicycle kick goal he had scored inside the six-yard box in the 55th minute due to a clear offside, but Congo did not give up on attacking.
Desabre’s team came close to taking the lead just a few seconds later, when Bakambu hit the post with a powerful right-footed shot.
Martínez tried to break the deadlock by bringing on Leao, Nélson Semedo, and Gonçalo Ramos, but his Portugal team was barely able to create any scoring chances.
Conceiçao was the star of their best scoring chances.
The winger sent two low crosses into the box for Cristiano, but the Al-Nassr forward was unable to get a shot off (Filed under: Portugal stumbles in World Cup debut).
Congo held out until the very end
Congo defended itself in an organized manner and didn’t back down when launching counterattacks.
Bakambu also missed a good chance in the 77th minute to give Congo the lead.
Portugal’s final push came down to a corner kick that Fernandes took too softly in stoppage time.
A summary of Portugal’s lackluster performance—a team that is already expected to step up its game (Filed under: Portugal stumbles in its World Cup opener).
Cristiano Ronaldo missed his two scoring opportunities
NuevaOnda.com
Technical data
1 – Portugal: Costa; Cancelo, Araújo, Veiga, Nuno Mendes (Semedo, 71′); Vitinha (Ramos, 83′), João Neves; Pedro Neto (Leão, 71′), Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva (Conceição, 46′); Cristiano Ronaldo.
Head Coach: Roberto Martínez
1 – Congo: Mpasi; Wan-Bissaka (Kalulu, 85′), Mbemba, Tuanzebe, Kapuadi, Masuaku (Joris Kayembe, 75′); Moutoussamy, Mukau (Sadiki, 56′), Edo Kayembe (Pickel, 75′); Bakambu (Banza, 85′) and Wissa.
Coach: Sébastien Desabre
Goals: 1-0, 6′: Joao Neves; 1-1, 45+5′.
Referee: Abdulrahman Al Jassim (QAT). He issued yellow cards to Bernardo Silva (13′), Semedo (88′), and Araújo (92′) of Portugal, and to Chancel Mbemba (32′) of Congo.
Match Details: A Group K match on the first day of the tournament, played at NRG Stadium in Houston in front of approximately 68,000 spectators.
With information from EFE
For more information, visit NuevaOnda.com