DR Congo’s night of fire, flair and fimbu summed up the joy of the World Cup

Yoane Wissa whipped a header into the net and, instead of the normal celebration route — a joyous sprint to the advertising hoardings, or knee slide to the corner — he ran straight for the DR Congo bench.

Immediately, the entire team began a choreographed dance, the fimbu. The few, but rowdy, Congolese supporters in the stands at NRG Stadium screamed louder than the sum of their parts, barely believing their side had equalised against the mighty Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo.

U.S. readers watch here:

DR CONGO HAS ITS FIRST-EVER FIFA WORLD CUP GOAL! 🇨🇩 pic.twitter.com/FSopuazQ08

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 17, 2026

UK readers watch here:

Yoane Wissa scores DR Congo’s first-ever World Cup goal! 🇨🇩⚽

It makes it 1-1 against Portugal in a historic moment for the nation. pic.twitter.com/Q7B6FcT3tn

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) June 17, 2026

“I think all the Congolese people and all the guys on the field dreamed of doing a fimbu at the World Cup,” DR Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi said. “To do it in the first game against Portugal was incredible.”

The joy was overwhelmingly palpable here in Houston, a place of some sort of underdog magic this week. On Sunday, we watched Curacao score the country’s first goal in World Cup history, an equaliser against Germany no less. Four days later, DR Congo — appearing in this tournament for the first time in 52 years — scored its first goal in World Cup history.

But DR Congo did something Curacao – ultimately beaten 7-1 – could not. They earned the country’s first ever point at a World Cup, closing out a 1-1 draw. As their right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka put it: “We came a long way.”

I came into this match wondering if DR Congo could match the energy of the thousands of Curacao’s Blue Wave fans that traveled to Houston for the opener Sunday. Despite losing heavily, the Curacao faithful never lost verve. As I walked around the concourse before Wednesday’s match, I saw maybe a few hundred DR Congo fans.

Yet after that goal from Wissa, fresh from a poor season at Premier League Newcastle United, the Congolese contingent was loud. Very loud.

Chants, dances, flags, all waving, all joyous. The team and fans clearly fed off each other. Just before Wissa’s goal, as the team organized a set piece, DR Congo fans chanted in unison, raising the energy in the building tenfold. Wissa’s ball into the net saw it explode.

“My first impression (after the goal) was pride,” Mpasi said. “Pride in seeing this whole team fight on the field just like the Congolese.”

It is catharsis for this country, formerly known as Zaire, whose last appearance in the World Cup produced a moment of infamy. Zaire was facing Brazil, which set up a free kick just outside the box. As players gathered, Zaire’s Mwepu Ilunga charged forward and kicked the ball instead.

Now they have Sunday’s draw, which was no fluke. The Congolese defense was steely against a feared Portugal attack, turning away entry after entry into the box. Despite trailing heavily in possession (75.4 per cent for Portugal, 24.6 per cent for DR Congo), they came out ahead on xG. Congo had more shots on target.

As the match waned, Congo just appeared more effective in all aspects. Portuguese players showed visible frustrations as every possession proved more toothless than the previous one. Midfielder Ngal’ayel MukauDR Congo was right when he told reporters afterwards that “the defense had a massive, massive game” but DR Congo also had multiple opportunities to go ahead late on, too. It was a remarkable showing, and one which prompted joyous celebrations way beyond Houston.

And if you listen to this team, playing against Ronaldo wasn’t a huge motivation. They had bigger things in mind.

“I wasn’t necessarily thinking about playing against Cristiano Ronaldo,” Mpasi said. “We were all playing our first World Cup match. If you don’t have extreme motivation in moments like that, you should quit football.”

DR Congo’s performance is another boost to African soccer, which has thrived in this World Cup. Cape Verde’s draw against Spain, another lead contender, was one of the biggest shocks in the tournament’s history. This DR Congo team ranked 21 spots above the Cape Verde crew, but Wednesday’s draw was no less impressive.

“It’s important to celebrate,” DR Congo coach Sébastien Desabre said. “I’m so proud of my boys (but) it’s important to recover and rest and focus … We are very happy with this result.”

There is real momentum here for a team that came into this World Cup with no goals and no points in the country’s history. I was taken with both the joy of the players, the fimbu and its fans, and simultaneously the ease in which DR Congo appeared to belong on a pitch with a team many think can win the World Cup.

DR Congo faces Colombia on Tuesday, followed by Uzbekistan next Saturday. According to our projections, they have a 59 percent chance to advance into the Round of 32. They’ll need a win in one of those matches to advance but that doesn’t look beyond them.

“We worked hard to be ready for a moment like this,” Mpasi said. “We know that 52 years later, all Congolese people were waiting to see Congo in the World Cup. We didn’t come here just to make up numbers. We came here to fight, to stand together and to proudly represent all Congolese people around the world.”