Nobody gave DR Congo a prayer going into this one. Portugal, with their golden generation still just about clinging on, were expected to roll through a side making their first World Cup appearance and bank three points without breaking much of a sweat. Football, thankfully, has absolutely no interest in doing what it is told.
Yoane Wissa, the Brentford forward who quietly has one of the best left feet in the Premier League, wrote himself into African football history with an equaliser that gave DR Congo their first ever point at a World Cup. Let that sink in for a moment. Their first ever point. The emotion around that dressing room must have been something else entirely.
Portugal, for their part, were oddly flat. Roberto Martínez made a substitution around the 83rd minute that raised a few eyebrows, bringing on Gonçalo Ramos which made perfect sense, but taking off Vitinha rather than Cristiano Ronaldo, who had been largely anonymous all game. Ronaldo at major tournaments these days is a bit like a famous restaurant that used to be brilliant. You keep going back out of loyalty and memory, but the meals are not quite what they were. Martínez clearly does not fancy being the man to tell him that, and honestly, who would?
DR Congo deserved every bit of what they got here. They were organised, they were brave, and when their moment came they took it. Wissa's finish was exactly what you would expect from a player who has been doing that kind of thing week in, week out in the Premier League. Cool, precise, and absolutely no fuss about it.
For Portugal this is a stumble they will not want to repeat. They have the quality to go deep in this tournament but they need their big players to actually show up rather than just be present. There is a difference between being on the pitch and being in the game, and Ronaldo spent most of this one doing the former.
Historic for DR Congo, a reality check for Portugal, and a reminder of why we all love this sport so much.
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