Portugal open their World Cup campaign in Houston against The Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday, in the first ever meeting between these two nations.
Are Portugal finally going to land gold?
All eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo this summer, as the 41 year-old looks to win the World Cup at his sixth time of asking. However, the quality of the rest of the team makes Seleção das Quinas one of the favorites for the tournament.
Their back-line consists of players such as Ruben Dias, Diogo Dalot and João Cancelo, who have an abundance of Premier League experience between them. The midfield is crammed with quality. As mentioned in my preview piece, Bruno Fernandes and Vitinha are certainly ones to watch. Add Matheus Nunes, Bernardo Silva and Ruben Neves to the mix and it’s starting to become a star studded line-up.
In attack, Ronaldo is partnered by fellow Al-Nassr forward João Felix. Then you also have Chelsea’s Pedro Neto and AC Milan’s Rafael Leão in the squad. Portugal are heavily tipped to win group K, but they’ll surely worth a bet to go all the way.
Playing the wide game
Roberto Martinez seems to favor a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 and likes to control the game by dominating possession.
With the quality he has at his disposable, they have the flexibility for their full-backs to either invert, or get forward to create lots of chances. Creating overloads out wide is a successful part of their tactics. They averaged the second most crosses per game (22) in European qualifiers, so Congo will have to stand strong defensively.
Can the Congolese absorb the pressure?
The stats say Congo are more than capable to stand strong in defense, as they had eight clean sheets in 13 World Cup qualifiers.
Improvements in defending are one of the most notable things that Head Coach Sebastian Desabre has instilled in his team. He likes to play a 4-3-3, but don’t be surprised if the Leopards shape up with a back five. This was trialled in the 0-0 draw with Denmark two weeks ago.
Warriors on the run
Desabre has transformed a team that was in turmoil when he took over nearly four years ago. The Frenchman has bought in fresh talent from a large nation and he is now seeing positive results from his patient nurturing.
There is a Congolese proverb that reads, ‘little by little, grow the bananas.’ This emphasises the patience and steady progress of Desabre’s methods.
Their best chance of scoring on Wednesday is to produce counter-attacks and to try and get star striker Cedric Bakambu to run in behind defenses. However, Portugal are most vulnerable when defending set-pieces. Defeat to the Republic of Ireland in qualifying demonstrated this and how they can struggle against a physical side that defends deep.
Match prediction
The Leopards will be desperate to prove they’ve changed their spots and show the world what they’re made of on their World Cup debut. The problem is that they’ve barely faced any top-20 ranked sides in recent years. When they have faced the bigger African teams, most notably Senegal and Morocco, their record against both is poor.
Another factor is that many of the national team’s regular starters have struggled for playing time at their clubs. As a result fitness and quality is a big concern. Having said that I feel that Congo will start strong but run out of steam. They will be eager to impress but fall short, with Portugal showing their quality and running out 3-0 winners.
Portugal possible starting lineup:
D Costa;
Cancelo, Dias, Inacio, Mendes;
J Neves, Fernandes, Vitinha;
Bernardo, Ronaldo, Neto
Congo DR possible starting lineup:
Mpasi;
Wan-Bissaka, Kapuadi, Tuanzebe, Mbemba, Masuaku;
Moutoussamy, Sadiki, Mukau;
Wissa, Bakambu
Match details
June 17, 2026
Portugal vs DR Congo
Houston, 1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT.
