DR Congo draw feels like a loss – Portugal star laments missed World Cup opportunity

Portugal defender João Cancelo shared his deep disappointment following his team's unexpected 1-1 draw against DR Congo in their first World Cup game.

The European side failed to live up to their status as heavy favourites, leaving the squad frustrated.

The high-profile match turned into a massive disappointment for João Cancelo, who admitted that sharing the points with the African underdogs felt exactly like a defeat.

The active fullback worked incredibly hard all night and even scored a beautiful low goal in the second half, but the referee quickly disallowed the strike for offside.

Cancelo shared his honest thoughts with reporters after the final whistle, stating, “It’s a draw that feels like a defeat. We wanted to win not only for ourselves, but also for everyone involved in this group.

“We didn’t manage to do that, we made mistakes, and we have to keep our feet on the ground and correct them.”

The experienced Barcelona defender explained that a clear lack of sharpness and too many rushed decisions in the final third completely ruined Portugal's attacking plans.

While his team kept total control of the ball for most of the match, Cancelo pointed out that they failed to create enough clear scoring opportunities to actually win the game.

He noted that slowing down the play will be a major focus for the team moving forward, adding: “We controlled the game with the ball, but we didn’t create many chances to score. We need to create more. There were moments when we rushed things, and that led to opposition counter-attacks.”

Portugal must now fix these careless mistakes before their next Group K match against World Cup debutants Uzbekistan.