Portugal vs Congo DR Preview

Portugal open their Group K campaign against Congo DR at NRG Stadium in Houston on Wednesday evening, in what is a monumental occasion for the central Africans, who are making their first World Cup appearance and will be determined to make history. For Portugal, this represents an opportunity to begin their title challenge with maximum points against a side significantly below them in the world rankings.

Portugal arrive at this World Cup in outstanding form, unbeaten in their last five matches and having scored fourteen goals across four victories. Their most recent outing produced a 2–1 win at home over Nigeria — a composed and professional performance that brought their pre-tournament preparation to a strong close. Prior to that, they beat Chile 2–1 at home. Before that, they won 2–0 away in the United States, and earlier in this run held Mexico to a goalless draw on the road. The sequence began with a nine-goal home rout of Armenia. Four wins and a draw — Portugal arrive with Ronaldo, Fernandes, Vitinha and Neves combining to form one of the most complete squads in the tournament.

Congo DR’s journey to this World Cup is a remarkable story, but the realities of their recent form present a more sobering picture ahead of this opener. Their most recent outing ended in a 2–1 home defeat to Chile — a loss that came just eight days before the tournament. Prior to that, they were held to a goalless draw at home by Denmark. Before that, they beat Jamaica 1–0 in another friendly, and earlier in this run won 2–0 at home against Bermuda. The sequence began with a 1–0 AET defeat away to Algeria in the Africa Cup of Nations. Two wins, a draw and two defeats — Congo DR have moments of quality and genuine resilience, as the organised defensive display against Denmark showed, but the leap in quality they face here is considerable.

There is no previous meeting between these two nations on record, making this a fresh encounter with no historical context.

Portugal will be heavy favourites and rightly so, but Congo DR’s defensive compactness and ability to frustrate on the counter — highlighted by that Denmark draw — means they could make this competitive in the early stages. Ultimately, Portugal’s depth and class should tell, with Ronaldo’s hunger for goals on the biggest stage adding extra motivation from kick-off.

In Portugal, the match is live on Sport TV1, SIC and Sport TV2, with streaming available via Sport TV Multiscreen and LiveMode. In Congo DR, viewers can watch on Télé Congo, RTNC and SuperSport MaXimo 1. In the UK and Ireland, the game is available on BBC One and via BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

Lineups & Injuries

Portugal (4-2-3-1) Costa, Semedo, Dias, Inácio, Dalot, Neves, Vitinha, Trincão, Fernandes, Neto, Ronaldo

Portugal: No injury concerns reported.

Congo DR (4-5-1) Mpasi-Nzau, Mbuku, Tuanzebe, Mbemba, Ditu, Sadiki, Mukau, Wissa, Moutoussamy, Wan-Bissaka, Bongonda

Congo DR: No injury concerns reported.

Both squads appear to be at full strength for this Group K opener, though the gap in individual quality between these two sides is substantial. Portugal’s depth of talent allows for rotation without a drop in standard, while Congo DR will need a near-perfect collective performance to contain one of the world’s most formidable attacking units.

Group K

Pos	Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Portugal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Colombia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Congo DR	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Uzbekistan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Portugal Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
✅	Portugal	2 – 1	Nigeria	International Friendly	Jun 10, 2026
✅	Portugal	2 – 1	Chile	International Friendly	Jun 6, 2026
✅	USA	0 – 2	Portugal	International Friendly	Apr 1, 2026
🤝	Mexico	0 – 0	Portugal	International Friendly	Mar 29, 2026
✅	Portugal	9 – 1	Armenia	International Friendly	Nov 16, 2025

Congo DR Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
❌	D.R. Congo	1 – 2	Chile	International Friendly	Jun 9, 2026
🤝	D.R. Congo	0 – 0	Denmark	International Friendly	Jun 3, 2026
✅	D.R. Congo	1 – 0	Jamaica	International Friendly	Mar 31, 2026
✅	D.R. Congo	2 – 0	Bermuda	International Friendly	Mar 25, 2026
❌	Algeria	1 – 0	D.R. Congo	Africa Cup of Nations	Jan 6, 2026

Head to Head

No previous meetings between these two sides.

TV Listings / Streaming

Country	Channel
Portugal	Sport TV1, SIC, Sport TV2, Sport TV Multiscreen, LiveMode
Congo DR	Télé Congo, RTNC, SuperSport MaXimo 1
Great Britain	BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport Web
Ireland	RTE 2, BBC One, RTE Player, BBC iPlayer
USA	FOX Network, fuboTV, Telemundo, UNIVERSO, FOX One
France	M6, beIN Sports 1, M6+, Molotov
Germany	ZDF, SRF zwei, MagentaTV
Brazil	CazéTV
Canada	TSN+, TSN1, CTV App
Japan	DAZN Japan, Fuji TV