A day after Leo Messi scored a hat-trick to give Argentina a victory over Algeria and become the top scorer in World Cup history, Cristiano Ronaldo fell short for the Portuguese in a duel with DR Congo - 1:1.
The "Navigators" disappointed, against a solid, organized and physically strong African team, which returned to the world's biggest stage after 52 years, and in 90 minutes they had only one shot on target.
It happened in the 6th minute, when Pedro Neto crossed, and Joao Neves, one of the shortest players on the pitch, scored with a powerful header from ten meters.
As the rain drenched Houston, but also lingered on the roof of the magnificent NRG Stadium, it was expected that Roberto Matines' team would run past the popular "leopards", but that was not the case.
Until the end of the first half, they exchanged passes boringly and fruitlessly, without any attempt - or chance - of creating a chance.
DR Congo was breaking free, starting to threaten, and as the match progressed, they got better and better into the game, and they equalized in stoppage time of the first half.
Joan Visa was left alone after a corner kick and headed it at the far post.
The Portuguese were a bit more specific in the second half, and DR Congo were dangerous on the counterattack. Cedric Bakambu hit the post for the Africans, while Ronaldo twice missed from clear-cut chances in his sixth World Cup, equalling Lionel Messi's record.
Ronaldo has played 10 matches in major competitions for Portugal (World Cup and European Championship) without scoring a goal.
Little by little, 95 minutes slipped away, Portugal, without a real shot fired, remained without a win in a match in which they were considered absolute favorites, while DR Congo scored a valuable point on their return to the biggest stage.
Tonight at 4:00 AM our time, Colombia and Uzbekistan will play in the second match of the 1st round of Group K.
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