Group: K — Portugal, DR Congo, Uzbekistan, Colombia

How they Qualified: DR Congo did not get to this tournament the easy way. They finished just behind Senegal in CAF qualifying, then beat Cameroon and Nigeria in the African playoff to reach the inter-confederation playoff, where they beat Jamaica 1-0 after extra time on an Axel Tuanzebe goal to clinch their place.

Best World Cup Finish: Group stage (1974 as Zaire)

Transfermarkt Roster Value: $157.97 M

FIFA Rank: 46

Odds to Win Group: 11-1

Odds to Advance: -120

Odds to Win Cup: 700-1

Key Players:

  • Yoane Wissa — Forward — Newcastle United (Premier League). DR Congo’s highest-valued player at $31M, and his return from injury was a major boost before the decisive World Cup playoff.
  • Aaron Wan-Bissaka — Right Back — West Ham United (Premier League). A fixture in the recent big-match lineups, giving DR Congo real quality and recovery speed on the right side.
  • Chancel Mbemba — Center Back — Lille (France). The captain remains the emotional and defensive anchor of the team. He started the recent AFCON and playoff matches and gives this side a veteran backbone that a lot of teams in this range do not have.

Playing Style and Outlook

Their recent competitive matches show a team with a pretty clear identity under Sébastien Desabre. In the AFCON group stage and round of 16, they repeatedly lined up in a 4-1-4-1, including against Benin, Senegal, and Algeria. In the World Cup playoff final against Jamaica, they shifted into more of a 4-4-1-1. The recurring pieces were a solid back four, Samuel Moutoussamy sitting in front of it, and quick, direct attackers like Wissa, Elia, Bongonda, Mbuku, and Bakambu around the front line.

What makes them interesting is that they can play two different kinds of games. Against stronger African sides, they have shown they are willing to defend without much of the ball — they had only 35.9% possession in the AFCON draw with Senegal and 30.9% possession in the September qualifier against them. But they are not passive. In the playoff final against Jamaica, they generated 19 shot attempts and largely controlled the danger even though the match needed extra time. They are a team built on unity and discipline, but with enough athleticism and attacking talent to threaten better teams.

So DR Congo feel a little sturdier than a typical team in this part of the field. They are experienced in the spine, they have real pace out wide, and they look comfortable in tight tournament games. The group is tough because Portugal are the clear heavyweight and Colombia bring more top-end quality, but the market actually has DR Congo favored to get out ahead of Uzbekistan and move on to the knockout as one of the top third place teams. That feels about right. They are not just happy to be here, and they are one of the more credible upset threats among the lower-ranked teams.