World Cup 2026: Wissa and Mayele turn the Uzbekistan game around

DR Congo turned a pressured final group match into a historic qualification in Atlanta on 27 June. Behind against Uzbekistan, the Leopards won 3-1 through two goals from Yoane Wissa and one from Fiston Mayele. Associated Press confirms that they have reached a World Cup knockout stage for the first time.

Eldor Shomurodov opened the scoring in the tenth minute. For Congo, who had taken only one point from their first two matches, falling behind left qualification dependent on a turnaround. All three goals in the Congolese response came in the second half.

Wissa equalised from the penalty spot in the 68th minute, Associated Press reports. Mayele then put Congo ahead in the 78th minute. FIFA’s report records that the forward had replaced Cédric Bakambu in the 51st minute: the goal that changed the lead therefore came from a player introduced after the interval.

Wissa added his second goal at 90+1 minutes to establish the final score. FIFA’s individual data credits him with two goals and Mayele with one. Noah Sadiki, Nathanaël Mbuku and Brian Cipenga were among the starters alongside Wissa and Bakambu.

FIFA’s match-summary table records nineteen Congolese attempts, five on target, against Uzbekistan’s three attempts and one on target. It also assigns Congo 2.11 expected goals, compared with 0.16 for their opponents. That statistical measure estimates the quality of chances; it is not a count of goals actually scored.

The Leopards finish third in Group K with four points, behind Colombia on seven and Portugal on five, according to ESPN’s standings. After opening the campaign with a draw, they have now secured their first victory of the tournament and earned a place in the round of 32.