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2026 FIFA World Cup
12JUN

Colombia beat DR Congo to top Group K

2 min read
09:25UTC

Daniel Munoz's 76th-minute goal won Group K for Colombia and sent them into the round of 32, the seventh side through.

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SportDeveloping
Key takeaway

Colombia won Group K to reach the round of 32; DR Congo must win to stay alive.

Daniel Munoz scored on 76 minutes in Guadalajara on Tuesday 23 June to give Colombia a 1-0 win over DR Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1. The win sealed Group K with six points and took Colombia into the round of 32 as the seventh team into the new 32-side knockout bracket. Colombia are the 2001 Copa America winners and 2024 finalists, a settled side built around their European-based core.

Munoz, a full-back, arrived late in the box to score the only goal of a cautious match. Topping the group rather than finishing second matters under the 48-team format: winning a group steers a team towards a softer knockout draw than the runners-up face.

For DR Congo the result was a setback to a tournament that had already made history. Their first World Cup goal in 52 years came against Portugal a week earlier , ending a drought that ran back to their 1974 appearance as Zaire. They now need a result in their final match to survive, having taken the harder of the two routes still open to them.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Colombia, from South America, beat DR Congo, from central Africa, 1-0 to finish top of their group with a perfect record. Winning the group with six points means Colombia get a favourable position in the draw for the knockout stage. DR Congo's team includes players who were born after the country's last World Cup goal, which came back in 1974. They still have one group match left and can still qualify for the next round.

Sources:NBC Sports
Mentions:Colombia →DR Congo →NBC Sports →World Cup →FIFA →Guadalajara →Yugoslavia →Portugal →Senegal →Daniel Munoz →
First Reported In

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NBC Sports· 24 Jun 2026
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Causes and effects
This Event
Colombia beat DR Congo to top Group K
Colombia secured a group win and the kinder bracket path that comes with it; DR Congo must win their last match to extend a tournament that began with history.
Led to
DR Congo score first goal in 52 years
DR Congo's first World Cup goal in 52 years against Portugal (ID:4315) contextualises their survival battle against Colombia
Occurred 17 Jun 2026
Read story →
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Morocco
Morocco
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FIFA
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Javier Tebas / La Liga
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