HOUSTON — After his team secured its first-ever World Cup point with a 1-1 draw against Portugal on Tuesday, Congo DR head coach Sébastien Desabre attempted to balance celebration of a momentous occasion with a continued focus on the task at hand.
“We’ve earned a draw,” Desabre said. “We’ve started our tournament, and now we’re immediately focused on the next two matches, where we’ll continue trying to earn more points. We remain humble because today was very difficult.”
At the same time, the accomplishment, both taking a point from a heavy favorite and securing any point, needed to be acknowledged. This is the first World Cup appearance for Congo DR since, as Zaire, they became the first sub-Saharan African team to reach the World Cup but fell by a combined 14-0 in three heavy defeats.
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Congo’s last presence at a World Cup became a cautionary tale of sorts, remembered as much for Mwepu Ilunga kicking the ball away as Brazil prepared for a free kick as for the accomplishment of reaching the tournament. And despite a run of success in that span, which included two African Cup of Nations titles (1968 and 1972), they didn’t get a chance to redeem themselves for 52 years until they did it on Wednesday with a stellar performance.
“Naturally we have to move on. But we also have to enjoy this moment because, for us, what matters is that we’ve earned Congo’s first point and scored Congo’s first goal at a World Cup. I’m proud of my players for that,” Desabre added,
The fan support for Congo DR in Houston Stadium was minimal because of visa restrictions following a recent Ebola outbreak back home. But the fans present had plenty to cheer.
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“We thank everyone who supported us today and everyone who was here,” Desabre said.
“We also know that the whole country was behind us. I know the Congolese people. Of course we would have liked to see more blue shirts in the stands; that’s something we missed. But we’re used to adapting. Mentally my players are very strong, and I think today many Congolese people can be proud of their team.”
Following a poor start in which Portugal generated heavy runs of possession and scored in the sixth minute from a João Neves header, Congo DR played their way into the match by creating solid chances from transitions and maximizing strength and set-piece advantages.
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Yoane Wissa scored from a corner on the last sequence of the first half.
“We’ve had good results from set pieces, we’ve scored quite a few goals that way, and we’re happy that it worked today,” Desabre said.
While Portugal maintained possession advantage into the second half, little came of it. Desabre referenced a key qualification victory over Nigeria from last November, in which Congo allowed a goal in the third minute but rebounded to win in penalties.
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“It was a similar scenario,” he said. “Mentally, we can cope with difficult starts to matches, as happened today. I know my players are capable of resetting themselves mentally and reacting in the right way to put the team back on the right track after a difficult beginning.”
Desabre claimed before Wednesday’s match that his team’s goal was to generate at least three or four points and advance to the knockout rounds. That will require a victory against either Colombia (next Tuesday in Guadalajara) or Uzbekistan (June 27 in Atlanta).
