Congo DR Made History in Atlanta and Yoane Wissa Made It Personal in 2026
52 years. That is how long Congo DR waited to return to a World Cup. It took them less than 25 minutes of the second half to make sure the wait was worth it.
Congo DR beat Uzbekistan 3-1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on June 28, 2026, in their Group K finale at the 2026 World Cup. Eldor Shomurodov gave Uzbekistan the lead in the 10th minute with a chipped finish, but Yoane Wissa converted a penalty in the 68th to level it, Fiston Mayele put Congo DR ahead in the 78th after a deflected shot fell to him at close range, and Wissa sealed it in the 90th+1st minute, firing low into the corner from 20 yards. Congo DR reach the knockout round of a World Cup for the first time in their history. Uzbekistan go home without a single point.
For all the talk about Congo DR’s attacking potential they had already held Portugal to a 1-1 draw earlier in the group the first half belonged entirely to Uzbekistan. Shomurodov had the ball in the net with a close-range finish inside the first minute, only for the offside flag to deny him. The reprieve lasted nine minutes. A mix-up in the Congo DR backline left acres of space behind the defence, and Shomurodov got to the ball 20 yards out and lifted a left-footed chip over goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi. It was an audacious finish for an xG of just 0.01. Goals like that can decide tournaments.
Congo DR pressed and pushed without ever truly threatening in the first half. Wissa was blocked from close range in the 29th minute. A VAR review wiped out what appeared to be a Nathanael Mbuku equaliser after the forward was judged to have fouled Sherzod Nasrullaev in the build-up. Mbuku picked up a yellow card in first-half stoppage time, the latest in a first period that also saw Abdukodir Khusanov cautioned in the 43rd. The game had an edge to it.
Half-time brought change. Fiston Mayele came on for Cedric Bakambu at the break. Congo DR immediately went longer, higher, more direct. Sebastien Desabre had seen enough of the patient approach that was getting his side nowhere.
Still it took a moment of Uzbekistan carelessness to crack it open. A cross came in from the left channel, Wissa got to the ball first, and Khusanov swung a leg across him inside the box. It was a poor challenge, reckless and late. Wissa stepped up, sent goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov the wrong way, and rolled the penalty into the bottom right. Atlanta was suddenly breathless with possibility.
Congo DR made three more substitutions at the 72nd minute, bringing on Meschack Elia, Theo Bongonda, and Ngal’ayel Mukau. Fresh legs, fresh energy. Six minutes later, Elia drove at the Uzbekistan defence from outside the box and let one go. It deflected into the path of Mayele, six yards out. He poked it into the top left corner before anyone could react. Simple finish. Impossible to defend.
Make no mistake, Uzbekistan were spent by this point. They had committed 16 fouls to Congo DR’s six and won more duels overall, but their attacking output across 90 minutes was nearly nonexistent. An xG of 0.20 against 2.35. Those numbers tell you everything about how much of a genuine contest this actually was in the second half.
Wissa completed the job in the first minute of added time. Elia kept the ball alive down the left flank and fed him just outside the box. Wissa checked back onto his right foot and drove a low shot into the corner past Nematov. Three goals at this World Cup for the Newcastle forward, and his team’s name written into the knockout round for the first time in the nation’s football history.
Even so, the story of this match belongs to the second half substitutes as much as it does to Wissa. Elia won the penalty that brought them level before going on to assist the third. Mayele scored the goal that actually put them ahead. Desabre did not start either of them. He simply read the game, made the calls, and watched his bench win him a World Cup knockout place.
There is a version of this story where Congo DR lose. Shomurodov does not chip a goalkeeper from an xG of 0.01. Mbuku’s goal stands. Half-time arrives at 1-1 rather than 1-0. Things could have looked very different by the 68th minute. That is the margin between history and near-miss, and it is thinner than it ever looks from the outside.