Thrilling win for Colombia against Congo at Estadio Guadalajara | OneFootball

Estadio Guadalajara hosted its third matchday of the FIFA World Cup 2026 this Tuesday and confirmed itself as one of the tournament venues generating the best atmosphere. Backed by fans who packed the stands of the Fortaleza Rojiblanca, the Colombia National Team felt right at home and edged the Democratic Republic of the Congo by the narrowest of margins.

Not even the rain could dampen the World Cup celebration in the Pearl of Guadalajara. From public transport to the last-mile access points, the yellow tide swirling around the Casa de los Mexicanos was impossible to miss. Of course, there were also plenty of Chivahermanos in attendance, taking the opportunity to be part of the event and proudly wear the red-and-white jersey.

United by their Latin American roots, Colombians and Mexicans came together to create the atmosphere even before kickoff. As fans entered the Estadio Guadalajara, the songs Hermoso Cariño and Cielito Lindo rang out at full volume in the stadium’s main forecourt.

Though fewer in number, a sizable group of Congolese fans took their place just behind their team’s bench. Leading them was Lumumba Vea, one of the African side’s most iconic supporters, known for attending stadiums in a suit and remaining standing, completely motionless, with his right arm raised for the full 90 minutes. Tonight was no exception, as he appeared in a red suit that made him stand out in the crowd.

Once the match got underway, the atmosphere lived up to a FIFA World Cup. From the opening whistle, Colombia’s supporters threw themselves behind their team, which came out attacking from the very first minutes but ran into a wall in the opposing goal named Lionel Mpasi. The goalkeeper literally flew on a couple of occasions to fingertip efforts from James Rodríguez and Luis Díaz wide. He also had the so-called ‘goalkeeper’s luck,’ as VAR disallowed a Daniel Muñoz header for a razor-thin offside.

In the second half, the pattern was much the same. Colombia controlled the match, though without the sharpness they had shown in the opening 20 minutes. Still, in the 75th minute, their persistence paid off: Muñoz popped up again in a scoring position and sent a loose ball he found on the right side of the penalty area ¡Pa' la jaula!

Estadio Guadalajara roared after Colombia’s goal. Colombia tilted the field even further and scored again through Luis Díaz, first with a lob over the goalkeeper and then with a powerful low drive across goal that beat the keeper’s spectacular dive. However, both goals were ruled out by VAR because of the forward’s offside positions.

The closing stages had their share of drama. Camilo Vargas had to stretch to the limit to fingertip away the shot that would have given Congo the equalizer, right on the edge of regulation time.

With that, Colombia matched what it achieved at Brazil 2014, when it won its first two matches of the tournament. With victories over Uzbekistan and Congo, Los Cafeteros took over first place in Group K with six points and will carry that edge into their clash with Portugal.

Colombia 1-0 Democratic Republic of the Congo(Daniel Muñoz, 75')Referee: Maurizio MarianiAttendance: 45,358 fansEstadio Guadalajara

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