DR Congo to face England in last 32 after dramatic comeback win over Uzbekistan
DR Congo will face England in the round of 32 after they staged a thrilling comeback from a goal down to beat Uzbekistan 3-1 in Atlanta.
The Leopards needed a win in their final group game to qualify as one of the best third placed teams and after falling behind in the first half, they dominated the second half and are rewarded with a game against Thomas Tuchel’s side in this stadium on July 1.
It did not always look like being Congo’s night. The first half brought two fantastic goals — but only one of them counted.
First Eldor Shomurodov showed why he the top scorer in his nation’s history with a superb lofted finish from a challenging angle on the left side of the box, the ball looping over Lionel Mpasi in the Congo goal.
Congo thought they had equalised through Nathaneal Mbuku’s sweetly-struck half-volley from range, the ball flying in at the near post. Referee Felix Zwayer was called to the pitch-side monitor by the VAR team, and decided to rule out the goal because Mbuku’s trailing hand had struck an Uzbek player in the build up.
The Leopards created — and missed — an abundance of chances before they won a penalty in the 67th minute that Yoane Wissa rolled calmly into the net.
That set up the game for an electric finish and Fiston Mayele, on as a substitute, flicked in brilliantly at the near post with 12 minutes left to put Congo into the lead.
And then in stoppage time, Wissa added gloss, with his second and Congo’s third with a low curling strike.
Here, Felipe Cardenas and Tim Spiers dissect the key talking points on a dramatic night in Atlanta.
Should England be worried?
Fiston Mayele’s clever flick will go down in DR Congo football history as the goal that took the African nation to the World Cup knockout rounds for the first time. DR Congo was against the ropes after Shomurodov’s 10th-minute strike. Yoane Wissa penalty gave them life and Mayele, put them ahead and Wissa finished it off in stoppage time.
Mayele, who plays his club football in Egypt, was a menace all night on the left flank. His insatiable appetite to dribble and take on his opponent one-on-one was complemented by his opportunistic goal in the 78th minute. His goal sent Atlanta Stadium into a frenzy, which continued as the DR Congo supporters danced and sang in impressive unity.
Fiston Mayele, who scored the second, will be a threat against England (Lars Baron/Getty Images)
Should England be worried? Perhaps. England struggled to break down Ghana and Congo are a similarly disciplined defensive side. It will be a tough test for Thomas Tuchel’s men.
African teams have had a wonderful World Cup group stage. Cape Verde has stolen all the headlines after advancing from a group that included Spain and Uruguay. Morocco is a contender and Egypt won their group, progressing to the knockout round for the first time in their nation’s history.
Ivory Coast and Senegal are formidable sides and Ghana proved difficult as well. It may well be Africa’s World Cup.
Felipe Cardenas
Was this the worst refereeing decision of the World Cup so far?
When Nathanael Mbuku spectacularly arrowed in a left-footed half-volley in the 18th minute, it looked for al the world that DR Congo had equalised.
However, when experienced German referee Felix Zwayer was quickly sent to the VAR screen, clearly something was up.
As it transpired, 14 seconds before he scored, Mbuku had basically tickled Sherzod Nasrullaev on the cheek when holding him off near the halfway line.
In fact held off isn’t even the correct term, he used his flailing arm as a barrier as he tried to ward off Nasrullaev’s challenge and sprint forward, but the contact was faint and minimal. A brush of the cheek.
Nasrullaev melodramatically fell to the floor like he’d been knocked down by a heavyweight boxer and it was that pathetic reaction which probably helped sway Zwayer, whose decision was a swift but embarrassing one.
“No 7 committed a foul with the hand in the face of the opponent,” he announced.
The officials have been praised for generally having a decent World Cup but that hasn’t stopped some horrific decisions being made, like Kylian Mbappe not being given a penalty when he was taken out in the Senegal box, or Ezri Konsa’s two-footed lunge not leading to a penalty for Ghana against England.
This was right up there with the worst we’ve seen.
Tim Spiers
Was this one of the goals of the tournament?
Every World Cup is remembered for its goals. Pelé’s masterclass against Sweden in 1958 is an all-time classic. Surely you remember Jared Borgetti’s snap header from an impossible angle against Italy in 2002. Igor Belanov’s thunder strike in 1986 was topped of course by Diego Maradona’s wonder goal against England in 1986.
The 2026 World Cup has seen some memorable goals, as well, and on Saturday, Eldor Shomurodov added his name to the tournament’s lore. The Uzbek striker has been one of the hardest-working players at this World Cup. He is a tireless runner who tends to do the dirty work for his team. Against DR Congo, his hustle was rewarded.
A ball was played to Abbosbek Fayzullaev near the Congolese penalty area. The diminutive midfielder attempted a circus flick but missed.
Shomurodov sprinted to the ball and caught it on a bounce with his left foot before it reached the end line. With a well-measured strike, Shomurodov sent the ball over Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi and into the corner past Mpasi far post.
Eldor Shomurodov’s finish was a thing of beauty (Lars Baron/Getty Images)
Shomurodov’s technique was pristine. And the contact he made was perfect. We’ll see this goal in every 2026 World Cup goal compilation video.
Felipe Cardenas
Will we see Uzbekistan at the World Cup again?
Reaching a first ever World Cup was the greatest achievement in the history of the Uzbekistan national team.
It was long overdue – they had fallen narrowly short on three painful occasions – but, while just being there was a major watermark moment, there will be huge disappointment in not claiming a single point.
Games against Colombia and Portugal saw a clear chasm in quality, but this was the match they had targeted and, having gone 1-0 up, defeat will be devastating, not least for Abdukodir Khusanov who, having scored an own goal against Portugal, gave away a penalty here and had a poor tournament.
However, looking at the bigger picture, huge investment back home in infrastructure, training facilities, coaching and stadiums means their World Cup appearance shouldn’t be a one-off. They have impressed in recent Under-17 and Under-20 tournaments and there are hopes that structures are being put in place to ensure Uzbekistan become a regular at major tournaments.
While there weren’t many positives for Fabio Cannavaro’s overawed, inexperienced team to take from their three matches, the performances of diminutive attacking midfielder Abbosbek Fayzullaev certainly stood out.
The 22-year-old Istanbul Basaksehir player, who was young Asian player of the year in 2023, was full of guile, trickery and opportunism, plus he worked tremendously hard.
It’s not the last we’ve heard of him or Uzbekistan.
Tim Spiers