Colombia beat Congo and seal early passage to the next round | OneFootball

Colombia pulled clear at the top of World Cup Group K; Flamengo’s Carrascal did not play

Colombia earned an important win this Tuesday (23) by beating DR Congo 1-0. With the result, the South American team pulled clear at the top of Group K of the 2026 World Cup. Akron Stadium, in Guadalajara, hosted the second-round clash.

HOW DID THE WINNING GOAL HAPPEN?

The Colombian side pushed forward from the opening whistle. However, the Congolese defense held firm until the 30th minute of the second half. At that moment, Juan Quintero and Jhon Córdoba combined well in a precisely worked move.

Then, the midfielder found full-back Daniel Muñoz, who struck the ball powerfully. It took a deflection off the opposing defense, wrong-footed the goalkeeper, and ended up in the net. Before that, Muñoz himself had celebrated a goal, but the referee disallowed it for offside after a VAR review.

DID JORGE CARRASCAL COME ON?

Flamengo midfielder Jorge Carrascal watched the entire match from the bench. Although he remained an option, the player is still part of the squad and experiencing the World Cup.

So far, Carrascal has totaled 26 minutes in this edition of the tournament. He is now waiting for new opportunities to show coach Néstor Lorenzo what he can do.

WHY DID THE CONGOLESE GOALKEEPER STAND OUT?

Lionel Mpasi, DR Congo’s goalkeeper, frustrated the Colombian attack for much of the match. Thanks to crucial saves, he denied dangerous efforts from James Rodríguez, Luis Díaz, and Johan Mojica.

Despite the goalkeeper’s resistance, Colombia showed complete technical superiority. The team completed 423 passes compared to just 210 by DR Congo, in addition to recording 20 shots over the 90 minutes.

WHICH MOMENTS STOOD OUT IN THE MATCH?

Forward Luis Díaz was involved in tense moments as he had two goals ruled out. First, the referee called a foul in a physical challenge. Then, the assistant caught the player in an offside position.

On the other hand, Colombia’s defense also had to work under pressure. In the 46th minute of the second half, Camilo Vargas preserved the score by blocking a dangerous shot from Nathanael Mbuku, securing all three points for the team.

WHAT DOES THE GROUP K TABLE LOOK LIKE?

The win cemented Colombia’s lead and left the group standings as follows:

WHEN IS COLOMBIA’S NEXT MATCH?

Colombia returns to action in the third and final round on Saturday (27) at 8:30 p.m. (Brasília time). In that match, the Colombians face Portugal in Miami to decide who finishes as the outright leader of the group.

That means that while Carrascal’s national team takes the field already qualified, DR Congo must win to keep alive its dream of reaching the next round.

Coluna do Fla, of course, keeps fans 100% informed about everything happening behind the scenes in matches where Flamengo players are available. In this way, the Nação has a special invitation to follow everything on social media, YouTube, and the website.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.