Pre-match information
The Portuguese national team entered the 2026 World Cup with the ambition to improve their best record, which was third place in 1966. Despite possessing many stars and regularly participating in major tournaments, they have only reached the World Cup semi-finals once since then, and stopped in the quarter-finals at the most recent World Cup in Qatar.
After winning EURO 2016, Portugal is still looking for the prestigious world cup that is missing in the collection. Under the guidance of coach Roberto Martinez, Portugal is considered the leading candidate for the top spot in Group K, which also includes Colombia, Uzbekistan and Congo.
Portugal won a ticket to North America with positive form, and also had three consecutive victories against the USA, Chile and Nigeria in friendly matches preparing for the tournament. However, the defeat against the Republic of Ireland at the end of last year showed that Portugal still has questions about their ability to compete for the championship.
The match in Houston will mark the first time in Portugal's history to face Congo. In theory, this is a balanced confrontation, and any result other than victory for Ronaldo and his teammates can be considered one of the biggest surprises of the tournament.
On the other side, Congo is enjoying their first World Cup after 52 years of waiting. The African team won a ticket to the tournament thanks to a 1-0 victory over Jamaica in the intercontinental play-off final, with Axel Tuanzebe's decisive goal in extra time.
Sebastien Desabre's team also had relatively positive preparation when they drew with Denmark 0-0 before losing to Chile 1-2 in a friendly series at the beginning of June. At the most recent African Cup, they reached the round of 16 and only lost one of the last 4 matches.
The World Cup expanding to 48 teams brings greater opportunities for Congo in the race to win tickets to the knockout round. With the new format, a third place with good enough results can completely help them advance.
