2026 World Cup: DR Congo's scenarios for qualifying to the round of 16

27.06.26 FT World Cup

DR Congo

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Uzbekistan

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DR Congo currently sits third in Group K with 1 point, trailing Colombia (6 pts) and Portugal (4 pts), but ahead of Uzbekistan (0 pts), whom they will face in the third and final group-stage match of this World Cup on Saturday at 23:30 GMT. Let’s break down the various qualification scenarios for the Leopards.

World Cup 2026: The official and complete group stage schedule

After an encouraging 1-1 draw against Portugal, DR Congo fell 0-1 to Colombia. Despite this setback, the Leopards’ hopes of reaching the knockout stage for the first time in their history remain very much alive.

DR Congo qualifies as runners-up if:

- They defeat Uzbekistan and Portugal loses to Colombia, with the Leopards overturning a negative goal difference (-1 for DR Congo vs. +5 for Portugal).

DR Congo qualifies as one of the best third-placed teams if:

- They beat Uzbekistan, but Portugal maintains a superior goal difference over the Leopards.

- They draw with Uzbekistan and four other third-placed teams in different groups fail to reach two points or have a better goal difference than -1.

The options aren’t plentiful for the Congolese side, who must aim for a decisive win—preferably by a healthy margin—if they want to keep their World Cup dream alive.

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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