The Democratic Republic of Congo ended their half-century wait to return to the FIFA World Cup in some style on Wednesday, as Yoane Wissa scored a fine equaliser as the Leopards came from behind to deny Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo a win.
The 1-1 draw saw the DRC hold steady against the European favourites, with Wissa cancelling out João Neves’ first-half header. The result saw the Leopards record their first-ever point at a World Cup.
Pitted against one of the tournament favourites in Portugal upon their return, Congo were up against it against Ronaldo and Co., but held their nerve during a contest in which they were largely without the ball, but didn’t fold under intensifying Portuguese pressure.
At half time, Portugal had registered 80 pe rcent of the possession, with the Leopards forced to defend deep, remain compact, with Wissa and Cédric Bakambu constantly attempting to pressure the European backline and disrupt their opponents.
Even when they fell behind early on, Sebastien Desabre’s worst nightmares coming true following Joao Neves’s sixth-minute opener, they didn’t wilt, didn’t crumble, didn’t allow the spectre of 1974 to destabilise this side.
Despite having little possession, the FIFA Inter-confederation playoff winners played with intent and adventure when they did get hold of the ball.
For 52 years, Congolese football has lived in the shadow of the failure of the Zaire team of 1974 and their disastrous World Cup campaign in West Germany, where a fine side failed to give a fair count of themselves and were bundled out in ignominy.
