Yoane Wissa headed in a cross from Arthur Masuaku in first-half stoppage time to draw DR Congo level with Portugal at 1-1 in Houston on 17 June 1. It was the nation's first goal at a World Cup in 52 years, since their 1974 debut as Zaire, when they conceded 14 and scored none. Joao Neves had opened the scoring for Portugal in the sixth minute. The draw leaves both sides chasing qualification from the group.
DR Congo reached the milestone the hard way, against a side ranked far above them, in a match they did not win, in a 48-team field engineered to put more mismatched teams on the same pitch . Two dozen extra group fixtures mean more chances for a long-dormant statistic to fall, regardless of whether the gap in quality has closed. Wissa's header was a genuine first; the format made the fixture likelier than it would have been under the old 32-team draw.
That tension ran through Wednesday's round. A point against Portugal keeps DR Congo's qualification arithmetic alive, which matters more to the squad than the record. The historical line will travel further than the league table, though the two should not be confused.
