Portugal v DR Congo: World Cup 2026 line-ups, stats and preview for Cristiano Ronaldo team, TV channel, live online stream and prediction

When Matheus Nunes was reminded of working in his godfather’s pastry shop during the press conference for Portugal’s World Cup 2026 opener, the Manchester City player admitted he had “never imagined” playing with Selecao captain and five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.

Once an unsuccessful trialist for Leicester City, Nunes is preparing to meet DR Congo in Houston in the company of 41-year-old Portugal captain Ronaldo, who is the all-time top international scorer and targeting the title at what is almost certainly his last World Cup.

“We are proud to be here with Cristiano,” said Nunes. “Ten years ago, I was playing in the sixth division, so I never imagined it.

“For us, it’s a huge honour to be here with him. Everyone knows what a great figure he is. If we can win the title for him, it would be something very big.”

A pre-tournament trip to the beach, Nunes said, was part of adapting to the climate rather than a sign of slackness from a squad being tipped by many to challenge.

“I, as an example, spend the year playing in Manchester,” explained the 27-year-old. “It’s not as hot there. It’s a huge difference.

“Going to the beach in the morning to adapt to the heat, sun and humidity was part of the plan. We’re not spending more time at the beach than at training.”

Former Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe scored the extra-time goal in Zapopan to send DR Congo to the finals with a play-off win against Jamaica.

“What a day it was,” said Burnley’s Tuanzebe, whose previous clubs also include Aston Villa and Napoli, speaking to FIFA.

“For me, scoring the goal, I didn’t really think too much of self accolades. It was more what it meant to the team, country and people.

“We can really be a dark horse. A lot of the opposition are not really aware of what we can bring in terms of our energy levels, patterns of play and a real togetherness that we have.”

The two-time African champions are making their second appearance at the World Cup, having lost three games in 1974, when they were known as Zaire.

“Our path to qualification was quite difficult,” said head coach Sebastien DesabreIt, discussing a run that also included seven wins, a draw and two defeats to finish two points behind automatic qualifiers Senegal during the initial stage. “It was a do-or-die situation [against Jamaica].”

This is the first match in Group K, which continues when Uzbekistan meet Colombia in Mexico City on Thursday (03:00 BST).

Portugal then face Uzbekistan in Houston on Tuesday (18:00), followed by DR Congo against Colombia in Zapopan on Wednesday (03:00).

World Cup 2026: Portugal v DR Congo team news

Manchester City centre-back Ruben Dias missed much of the second half of the season with a hamstring injury but returned for Portugal’s friendly wins over Chile and Nigeria this month and has trained fully.

Ronaldo sat out his nation’s first two matches of the year with a hamstring injury and started both warm-up games as captain, featuring for 45 minutes against La Roja followed by a 65-minute outing against the Super Eagles.

Benfica defender Tomas Araujo could make his second competitive international appearance, having previously featured against Croatia in the Nations League in November 2024.

Samu Costa is Portugal’s other outfield player with a single-figure caps total. The Mallorca midfielder’s two competitive outings were brief cameos against Poland during that Nations League campaign.

Rocky Bushiri withdrew from DR Congo’s squad with an Achilles injury sustained while playing for Hibernian on the final matchday of the Scottish season.

Kilmarnock midfielder and former England youth international Aaron ‌Tshibola has replaced the centre-back.

Yoane Wissa could make his first appearance at a major tournament since September 2024, having struggled with a knee injury and scored one Premier League goal last season after joining Newcastle from Brentford for £55 million.

Wissa did not return to full fitness in time to feature at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in January, at which DR Congo’s extra-time exit to Algeria in the last 16 marked Gael Kakuta’s most recent competitive match for his country.

The hugely experienced former Chelsea and France Under-21 winger returned as a second-half substitute in the 2-1 defeat to Chile in a friendly on June 9.

Portugal v DR Congo World Cup 2026 predicted line-ups

Portugal starting XI: Diogo Costa, Joao Cancelo, Tomas Araujo, Ruben Dias, Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves, Vitinha, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Joao Felix, Cristiano Ronaldo

DR Congo starting XI: Lionel Mpasi, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Chancel Mbemba, Axel Tuanzebe, Arthur Masuaku, Meschack Elia, Samuel Moutoussamy, Noah Sadiki, Nathanael Mbuku, Cedric Bakambu, Yoane Wissa

Where to watch Portugal v DR Congo: TV channel, live online streams

Kick-off on Wednesday is at 18:00 BST (13:00 ET / 10:00 PT). In the UK, live coverage is on BBC One.

Streaming on a vast range of devices is available through the BBC iPlayer app and BBC Sport website.

World Cup 2026: Portugal v DR Congo stats

• Since Portugal’s best ever World Cup finish – third place in 1966 – their only other semi-final appearance has been in 2006, exiting against France before losing the third-place match to hosts Germany
• Portugal are one of five European teams to have made an appearance at every World Cup
  since 2002, alongside England, France, Germany and Spain
• They have reached the knockout stage at four of the last five World Cup tournaments and scored in 10 of their last 11 matches at the finals, the exception being their 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Morocco in 2022
• Ronaldo is the only player to have scored at five World Cup tournaments and could become the only player – potentially alongside Lionel Messi – to appear at six editions
• Selecao head coach Roberto Martínez is at his third World Cup as a head coach, having guided Belgium to a third-place finish in 2018 and a group-stage exit in 2022
• Martinez is the third non-Portuguese head coach to lead the team at the finals, after Brazilians Otto Gloria and Luiz Felipe Scolari
• Only Wales (64 years, between 1958 and 2022), Egypt (56 years, between 1934 and 1990) and Norway (56 years, between 1938 and 1994) have had longer gaps in successive World Cup participations than DR Congo
• Only Bolivia (first 5 games), Canada and Greece (first 4 games) have played more games at the tournament before scoring their first goal than DR Congo, who are yet to open their account
• Including play-offs, 10 of DR Congo’s 13 qualifying matches were drawn (2) or decided by a one-goal margin (6 wins, 2 losses), while keeping a clean sheet in eight of their 13 matches
• In African qualifying, only Gambia and Gabon (3 each) had more players with at least six goal involvements than DR Congo, for whom Cedric Bakambu (4 goals, 2 assists) and Wissa (3 goals, 3 assists) contributed six each
• Desabre is at his third major tournament in charge of DR Congo, who the Frenchman guided them to fourth place at the 2023 AFCON and the round of 16 at the 2025 edition

World Cup 2026: Portugal v DR Congo prediction

Portugal 2-2 DR Congo

Portugal started their 2022 campaign with a 3-2 win over Ghana and their latest meeting with African opponents could be another high-scoring one, with the Selecao’s feared attacking options encountering a dangerous DR Congo forward line courtesy of the likes of Wissa, Theo Bondonda, Meschack Elia and Cedric Bakambu. The Leopards are unlikely to be overawed after knocking Cameroon and Nigeria out in qualifying.