The Sports Guru
DR Congo went a goal down inside ten minutes, had a goal chalked off by VAR, and looked for a while like a side whose World Cup was about to fizzle out. Then they remembered they could play. This is the story of a 3-1 comeback in Atlanta that sent Uzbekistan home and kept Congo's own knockout hopes breathing.
For an hour at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, DR Congo were the better side getting the worse result, which is the most frustrating place in football to be. They trailed Uzbekistan to an early Eldor Shomurodov goal, had a Nathanael Mbuku effort wiped off by VAR, and could not find the finish their play deserved. Then Yoane Wissa stepped up, twice, and the evening turned. DR Congo won 3-1 in front of 68,239 supporters, a comeback that ended Uzbekistan's first World Cup with no points and kept Congo's own campaign alive going into the final reckoning of Group K.
The early goal was a clean one. On ten minutes Shomurodov collected possession on the left of the box and finished low with his left foot, the kind of tidy strike that rewards a striker for being in the right yard of grass at the right second. Uzbekistan, beaten heavily in their first two games, suddenly had a lead to defend and a reason to believe.
VAR Takes One Away, and the Frustration Builds
DR Congo's response was immediate and then immediately punctured. On 17 minutes Mbuku thought he had levelled, only for the goal to be overturned after a VAR review. There is a particular flatness to a disallowed equaliser, the celebration cut off at the knees, and Congo spent the rest of the first half wrestling with it. Noah Sadiki was booked on 21 minutes, Mbuku himself collected a yellow deep in first-half stoppage time on 45+5, and the discipline began to look like a team pressing too hard for a way through. At the interval Uzbekistan led a game they had barely controlled.
The turning point arrived just past the hour. Abdukodir Khusanov, already cautioned on 43 minutes, conceded a penalty, and Wissa did the simple thing well from the spot on 68 minutes, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way and rolling the ball into the bottom-right corner. A side that had been knocking without an answer finally had its equaliser, and the body language flipped in an instant.
Wissa and Mayele Turn the Screw
Once Congo were level, the game tilted entirely. On 78 minutes Fiston Mayele gave them the lead for the first time all night, finishing from very close range into the top-left corner, the reward for the pressure that had been building since the penalty. From there Uzbekistan had no way back. Deep into stoppage time, on 90+1, Wissa added the gloss, taking aim from outside the box and finding the bottom-right corner after a Meschack Elia pass, his second of the night and the goal that turned a nervy win into a comfortable-looking scoreline. Two goals in a tournament can change how a forward's World Cup is remembered. Wissa got his in the half-hour that mattered most.
The game was not a procession of quality so much as a contest of conviction, and Congo had more of it when it counted. Samuel Moutoussamy was booked on 62 minutes and Uzbekistan's Sherzod Nasrullaev had been cautioned on 48, the markings of a tetchy, physical second half. But the chances that mattered fell to the side in red, and they took the ones that arrived after the hour.
Uzbekistan Go Home With Nothing
For Uzbekistan this is the end, and a chastening one. Their first World Cup brings three defeats and no points. They were thrashed in a 5-0 loss to Portugal and beaten by Colombia in a 3-1 defeat before this, and while they led here for an hour, the pattern held: a side that can compete in passages but not for ninety minutes against this level. Shomurodov's goal was a bright spot and little else. They leave the tournament having learned how wide the gap still is, which is its own kind of education.
What It Means for DR Congo
For DR Congo the result keeps the lights on. Having lost 1-0 to Colombia in their opener and then held Portugal to a draw, they finish their group games with this win and a points return that gives them a genuine shout of progressing as one of the better third-placed sides. The expanded format means a strong third place can still travel onward, and Congo have given themselves something to wait on. It is out of their hands now, but they have done what was in them: beaten the team they had to beat, and beaten them having gone behind. That takes a particular kind of nerve from a squad still finding its feet at this level.
Verdict: Character Over Polish
This was not a flawless performance. DR Congo were wasteful, briefly rattled by the VAR call, and indebted to a penalty for the goal that settled their nerves. But World Cups reward teams that keep going after the breaks fall against them, and Congo did exactly that. Uzbekistan, for all their early promise, could not hold a lead they had earned, and the tournament closes on them without a point to show for it. One side flew home on Sunday night. The other is still waiting by the phone, and after a comeback like this they have earned the wait.
Frequently Asked Questions
DR Congo beat Uzbekistan 3-1 in their Group K game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in front of 68,239 supporters. Eldor Shomurodov put Uzbekistan ahead on ten minutes, before Yoane Wissa equalised from the penalty spot on 68, Fiston Mayele made it 2-1 on 78, and Wissa added a third in stoppage time on 90+1. A first-half goal by Nathanael Mbuku had been disallowed after a VAR review.
Yoane Wissa scored twice, a penalty on 68 minutes and a strike from outside the box on 90+1, the second assisted by Meschack Elia. Fiston Mayele scored the other goal on 78 minutes, finishing from very close range. The comeback began with Wissa's penalty, awarded after a foul by Uzbekistan's Abdukodir Khusanov, and Congo took control of the game from that point on.
Nathanael Mbuku had the ball in the net on 17 minutes, but the goal was overturned after a VAR review. The Sky Sports coverage records the review and the decision to disallow it, though it does not detail the specific reason. The call left DR Congo trailing for almost an hour before Wissa's penalty drew them level on 68 minutes.
Uzbekistan are out, finishing their first World Cup with three defeats and no points. They had already lost 5-0 to Portugal and 3-1 to Colombia before this game, and although Shomurodov's early goal gave them a lead, they could not hold it. The defeat confirms a difficult tournament debut and a clear gap to the level required to progress from the group.
The win keeps DR Congo in contention as one of the better third-placed teams, the expanded World Cup format allowing several third-placed sides to advance. After losing to Colombia and drawing with Portugal, this victory gives them a points total worth waiting on, though their progress now depends on results in the other groups. It is out of their hands, but they have done their part.
Sources: Match report, scoring sequence, attendance, the key moments timeline, the disallowed Mbuku goal and VAR review, the penalty award and the booking record, as reported in Sky Sports' coverage of DR Congo 3-1 Uzbekistan at the World Cup, with the result and goalscorers cross-checked against the match's official record and the Group K context drawn from the teams' earlier results.
