Toothless Portugal left frustrated in opening game as D.R. Congo claim impressive draw

[p][b]Reigning UEFA Nations League champions [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/portugal/WvJrjFVN/"]Portugal[/a] needed less than six minutes to break the deadlock through the diminutive [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/neves-joao/hCbYVsXQ/"]Joao Neves[/a], who supplied a precise header from a nice [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/neto-pedro/lxtnUkIP/"]Pedro Neto[/a] cross for his fourth goal in his last two competitive internationals. [/b][/p][image alt="Neves (R) opened the scoring for Portugal" id="a287ef37-288a-41cf-b396-3f353f909abf" credit-line="REUTERS / Phil Noble" guid="001cc7c4-f802-4ac9-9637-b04c4eeaf7a1" original-width="3723" original-height="2613" /][p]That looked as though it might set the tone, but the Leopards mustered a decent immediate response, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wissa-yoane/b35gWzB2/"]Yoane Wissa[/a] flashing an effort narrowly wide before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bakambu-cedric/vZ3QJXBc/"]Cedric Bakambu[/a] saw an effort blocked.[/p][p]Adding [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandes-bruno/GYvAMDm2/"]Bruno Fernandes[/a] to two-thirds of the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/psg/CjhkPw0k/"]Paris Saint-Germain[/a] midfield was always going to lead to a chance or two for Portugal at the other end, and the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-united/ppjDR086/"]Manchester United[/a] man found a lovely pass to set [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mendes-nuno/ne2xCTJj/"]Nuno Mendes[/a] free, requiring a good stop from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mpasi-nzau-lionel/pzX674k0/"]Lionel Mpasi[/a] to keep the deficit down to one.[/p][p]But even with the impressive array of playmakers on show, Portugal struggled to fashion any more clear-cut openings, as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/d-r-congo/phn9mm8H/"]DR Congo[/a] stuck admirably to their defensive game plan despite conceding the early goal.[/p][p][b]And that paid off on the brink of half time, as Wissa was left in glorious isolation from a corner to head beyond a helpless [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/diogo-costa/hC31Ab0c/"]Diogo Costa[/a] for his country’s first-ever WC goal. The African side saw just 20% of the ball in the first period, but ultimately merited their equaliser. [/b][/p][image alt="D.R. Congo celebrate Wissa's goal" id="e7bb2061-47cf-40a3-bc3b-34eb86d5ac73" credit-line="REUTERS / Pedro Nunes" guid="2e811c86-7de1-4b6a-a77b-f85111ae9061" original-width="8106" original-height="5404" /][p]After Portugal mustered just two shots in the first half, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/chico-conceicao/n53v4sSd/"]Francisco Conceicao[/a] replaced [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/silva-bernardo/lUg03qcR/"]Bernardo Silva[/a] at the break, and he had the first chance of the second period, losing a battle of strength at the far post as he looked to connect with a cross from the left.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cancelo-joao/dAyeWYpm/"]Joao Cancelo[/a] then looked to have restored Portugal’s lead in acrobatic fashion, hooking a chested Neves pass beyond Mpasi, but the offside flag went straight up.[/p][p]DR Congo still posed a threat of their own, and Bakambu gave Portugal a scare when he rattled the post, although the referee ultimately brought it back anyway for a foul on Fernandes.[/p][p]At the other end, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ronaldo-cristiano/WGOY4FSt/"]Cristiano Ronaldo[/a] finally got his first sniff at goal, but couldn’t quite adjust sufficiently to divert Conceicao’s pass into the corner. [/p][image alt="Ronaldo struggled to get into the game" id="af7d9f15-d0e1-4d0d-853a-8f6eab9607a1" credit-line="REUTERS / Phil Noble / Opta by Stats Perform" guid="c2c2d3f4-3d5c-4699-82f9-c05cb9a48e11" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]The game began to open up a little in the closing stages, but half-chances for Bakambu and Cancelo at either end came to nothing, and the contest ended all square.[/p][p]For the Leopards, this is already an improvement on their last WC appearance, when they conceded 14 goals without reply across three defeats.[/p][p]This time around, they have given themselves every reason to be optimistic of progressing from Group K, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/uzbekistan/EZYKKRMc/"]Uzbekistan[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/colombia/G02s4PCS/"]Colombia[/a] set to face off later on in the other opening fixture. [/p][image alt="Match stats" id="299729b1-babc-481f-84fc-e8ea191811e7" credit-line="Opta by StatsPerform" guid="0b47d19d-8c90-435b-a3fa-9570715032bb" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]Portugal will hope to quickly fix their surprisingly blunt-looking attack, with Ronaldo made to wait for a goal at a sixth different edition of the WC.[/p][p][b]Flashscore Man of the Match: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/neves-joao/hCbYVsXQ/"]Joao Neves[/a] ([a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/portugal/WvJrjFVN/"]Portugal[/a])[/b][/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/d-r-congo-phn9mm8H/portugal-WvJrjFVN/?mid=4zTHJLbM"]See a summary of the match here[/a][/b][/p]