Portugal open their World Cup campaign on 17 June 2026 against DR Congo at NRG Stadium in Houston, the group K opener pairing one of the tournament's heaviest favourites with a side making their first appearance at the finals since 1974. Colombia and Uzbekistan complete the group, with only the top two advancing.
Roberto Martínez has managed Portugal since January 2023, building a possession heavy system that uses width to stretch opponents, whereas Sébastien Desabre, in charge of DR Congo since August 2022, has gone the other way: deep lines, compact shape and a defence that gives opponents very little to work with. Neither coach has a reference point for the other's system, which makes the tactical opening exchanges worth watching closely.
Portugal arrive having scored 20 goals in six qualifying matches, with friendlies since adding wins over Nigeria and Chile (both 2-1) and a 2-0 defeat of the United States. DR Congo got here the hard way, through an intercontinental playoff that included a 1-0 extra time win over Jamaica and a 0-0 with Denmark followed by a 1-2 to Chile since then tell you most of what you need to know: they kept Denmark scoreless for 90 minutes and were only beaten by a side ranked inside the world's top 20.
Cristiano Ronaldo is 41 and still the point man in Portugal's attack. Diogo Costa is in goal, Rúben Dias in central defence and Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva in midfield, with no injury concerns across any of those positions. DR Congo lose centre back Rocky Bushiri to injury, with Aaron Tshibola stepping in, whereas Yoane Wissa is fit after a knee problem and adds pace from wide positions.
Martínez will likely line up in a 4-3-3 with Fernandes and Bernardo Silva responsible for set piece delivery, whereas DR Congo will probably sit in a 4-3-3 or 4-1-4-1 with a holding midfielder screening the back four. Ronaldo against Chancel Mbemba will draw the cameras but the more decisive contest may be whether Fernandes and Vitinha can unlock a packed midfield. Wissa's pace in behind is the main threat going the other way and Portugal's full backs will need to track his runs into the channels.
These sides have never met, so there is no head to head record to draw from. DR Congo's dead ball organisation held up in qualifying but the physical mismatch against Portugal's defenders is likely to become a problem in the second half and the depth available to Martínez off the bench only widens the gap as the match goes on.
Portugal should win this 2-1, though the low block will make life difficult and Wissa's pace in behind is a threat that will not go away. DR Congo kept a clean sheet against Denmark and conceded only to a top 20 side on the road to Houston, so this is unlikely to be as clean as the rankings imply. The likeliest route to the scoreline is Ronaldo opening it, Fernandes making it two and Wissa pulling one back late.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
