On 17 June, Portugal will begin their latest attempt to finally win the World Cup in Houston against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who have qualified for the tournament for the first time in 52 years.
The Portugal national football team
Portugal enter the tournament as one of the main favourites — and this comes as no surprise, given that they have lost just one of their last 13 matches (10 wins, 2 draws), and their most recent competitive match ended in a 9–1 thrashing of Armenia in the qualifiers.
The Portuguese scored in ten consecutive World Cup matches before failing to find the net in the 2022 quarter-final against Morocco.
The tireless Cristiano Ronaldo will feature at the 2026 World Cup as the only player to have scored goals at five different World Cups.
The Congo national football team
Congo are returning to the World Cup stage for the first time since 1974 — when they were still known as Zaire. Sébastien Desabre and his team have not had a trouble-free build-up, as a deadly Ebola outbreak in their home country has led to travel restrictions for supporters.
In 18 of their last 22 victories, Congo have kept a clean sheet.
The last four goals scored against Congo were all scored after the 50th minute.
Portugal v Congo preview
Both teams appear to be heading into this match with no injury concerns.
Portugal are the clear favourites. Given their exceptional attacking prowess, it may be worth considering that the European side could win even with a -2 handicap. In nine of Portugal’s last 13 matches, more than 2.5 goals were scored, suggesting a high total of over 2.5 goals.
