Yoan Wissa scored twice as DR Congo beat Uzbekistan 3-1 to reach the last 16 of the World Cup for the first time in their history. They will face England after their first World Cup win.
Eldor Shomurodov’s strike over Lionel Mpasi gave the Uzbeks a great start in Atlanta. But Newcastle striker Wissa equalized from the penalty spot before Fiston Mayele’s goal sent the mostly Congolese crowd into a frenzy.
Wissa capped a historic night for the Africans with a fine strike in stoppage time to score his third goal of the tournament.
โWe will immediately begin preparation work,โ said DRC head coach Sebastian Desabre. โWe have a few players in the squad who play for English league clubs so they will help us, but we will prepare as best we can for what will be a very important match for us.โ
Uzbekistan knew before the match started that they were likely to be knocked out given the huge goal difference they would need to progress. However, Italian great Fabio Cannavaro stressed the importance of victory as a legacy for their first World Cup appearance and his players flew out of the traps.
Shomurodov scored after 30 seconds but was ruled offside, although the Uzbekistan captain and all-time leading scorer had to wait just 10 more minutes to savor the moment. The Istanbul Basaksehir striker struck Mpasi superbly from a narrow angle.
Eldor Shomurodov puts Uzbekistan ahead. Photograph: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters
Nathanael Mbuku thought he had brought the Congolese level with an equally fine shot that found its way into the top corner. However, after a VAR review, Mbuku was penalized for a soft foul on Sherzod Nasrullaev in attack when his hand grazed the Uzbek defender’s face.
DRC began to run out of ideas until a rash challenge from Manchester City player Abdukodir Khusanov on Wisse gave them a path back into the game and into the knockout stages. Vissa pulled himself together and calmly sent Abduvohid Nematov the wrong way, causing an explosion of noise among the nearly 70,000 people present.
Fiston Mayele
Two minutes later, most of the fans saw the historic moment they had come for. Elia withstood Meshak’s deflected shot just long enough for Mayele to get ahead of Nematov and throw the ball into the net.
Wissa completed the comeback by curling into the far corner from the edge of the penalty area.
โThe World Cup is brutal,โ Cannavaro said. “The players gave their all. They are sad in the locker room. They suffer more than anyone in Uzbekistan.”
The DRC’s progress continued with a stunning World Cup for African teams. Only Tunisia, of the 10 African teams participating in the tournament, is eliminated, with Algeria likely to join the eight countries that have reached the last 32 in the final group matches later on Saturday.