DR Congo progress to face England in the knock-out round | OneFootball

DR Congo came from behind to defeat Uzbekistan to finish third in their group and will now face England in the knock-out round.

Within seconds of the game, Uzbekistan had already found the net through Eldor Shomurodov, who controlled the ball with his chest inside the area and fired a left-footed shot. However, the striker was offside and the goal was disallowed.

After this initial setback, the goal eventually came. This time, Shomurodov saw the Lionel Mpasi off his line and chipped the ball over him with style.

DR Congo went on the attack after falling behind, and in the 17th minute, after a play by Brian Cipenga, Nathanel Mbuku controlled the ball at the edge of the area and unleashed a beautiful left-footed shot. However, the referee saw a foul by Mbuku himself, who put his hand on the opponent's face at the start of the play, and disallowed the goal after a VAR review.

The remainder of the first half saw DR Congo dominating possession, while Uzbekistan rarely ventured beyond midfield, settling for rare counter-attacks.

The African side struggled to create clear scoring opportunities, accumulating crosses into the box and long-range shots. Without another shot on target, the score remained unchanged until halftime.

DR Congo's pressure continued until Mbuku crossed into the box, Yoane Wissa anticipated the pass and was brought down by Abdukodir Khusanov. In the 68th minute, Wissa himself sent the goalkeeper the wrong way with the penalty kick and equalised.

The African team became more enthusiastic and started to create even more chances with a renewed attack after the substitutions. The moment of ecstasy came in the 78th minutes, when Meschack Elia shot from outside the area, the ball deflected on its way and Fiston Mayele touched it before the goalkeeper could reach it to seal the comeback.

In stoppage time came the relief when Wissa picked up a loose ball on the left, pulled it to the edge of the area and unleashed a powerful shot into the corner. Qualification secured.

Incidents: The story of the match

1':

The match begins

10':

GOAL Uzbekistan: Eldor Shomurodov (Uzbekistan) scores!

Eldor Shomurodov scores goal number 1 in the competition (3 matches)

68':

GOALDR Congo: Yoane Wissa (DR Congo) scores penalty-kick!

Yoane Wissa scores goal number 2 in the competition (3 matches)

78':

GOAL DR Congo: Fiston Mayele (DR Congo) scores!

Fiston Mayele scores goal number 1 in the competition (1 matches)

90':

GOAL DR Congo: Yoane Wissa (DR Congo) scores!

Yoane Wissa scores goal number 3 in the competition (3 matches)

90 +9':

The referee whistles for the end of the match

Melhor em campo:

Yoane Wissa (COD) is the oficial Man of the Match