History made! Yoane Wissa CLUTCH as DR Congo destroy Uzbekistan to set up England date

DR Congo have made World Cup history at last after becoming the latest African team to qualify for the knockout stage. 

A thrilling 3-1 comeback win over Uzbekistan in Atlanta not only gave the Leopards their first-ever World Cup victory, but also sent them into the Round of 32 for the first time, with England, who defeated Panama, now waiting in a blockbuster knockout tie.

Uzbekistan threatened to spoil the party early when they thought they had scored inside 30 seconds, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside. 

They did take the lead in the 10th minute, though, as captain Eldor Shomurodov produced a beautiful clipped finish to leave DR Congo staring at an early exit.

The Leopards answered with urgency, but frustration followed when Nathanaël Mbuku thought he had levelled matters in the 17th minute. 

VAR intervened to disallow the goal after his arm made contact with an Uzbek defender in the build-up, leaving Sebastien Desabre’s side furious and still chasing the game.

What followed after the break was a complete shift in momentum. DR Congo began to dominate, and their pressure finally told in the 66th minute when Abdukodir Khusanov caught Yoane Wissa in the box. 

Wissa took responsibility himself and calmly sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to make it 1-1 and ignite belief in the Congolese camp.

That equaliser opened the floodgates. Just ten minutes later, substitute Fiston Mayele reacted quickest to a deflected effort and prodded the ball home to put DR Congo ahead for the first time. 

From there, the Leopards never looked back, with the fans in Atlanta sensing something historic was unfolding.

Wissa then delivered the decisive blow deep into stoppage time. In the 91st minute, the forward collected the ball outside the area, turned sharply and arrowed a superb strike into the far corner to complete the turnaround and seal a famous 3-1 victory. It was a fitting finish to a night that changed the course of DR Congo’s football history.

The numbers told the story of the second half as well, with DR Congo outshooting Uzbekistan 12-3 after the interval. Their energy, belief and composure under pressure made the difference, and the result was enough to finish third in Group K with four points and a plus-one goal difference.

That total was good enough to send them through as one of the best third-placed teams, and the reward could hardly be bigger. 

DR Congo do not even need to leave Atlanta, where they will face England in the Round of 32 on Wednesday. For a nation that had never won a World Cup match before, the transformation has been extraordinary.