Yoane Wissa finished with two goals, six shots and an 8.0 rating as Congo DR beat Uzbekistan 3-1 to stay alive at the World Cup. The comeback itself was impressive enough. The bigger significance is that a side back on this stage after a 52-year absence now heads into a round-of-32 meeting with England, largely because Wissa took over when the match opened up.

Wissa's numbers tell the story

The clearest stat in Congo DR vs Uzbekistan was Wissa's goal return, but the six-shot total is nearly as important. He was not a passenger waiting for service. He kept pushing the game toward Uzbekistan's box and ended up deciding it twice.

His first goal came in the 68th minute from the penalty spot. His second arrived in the 90th minute plus 1, struck from the edge of the box and heavy enough to kill the match. Congo DR needed both because this was not a routine win from the start.

Sebastien Desabre told bbc.co.uk: "We've got him back to his best". That felt like a fair reading rather than standard manager praise. Wissa's 8.0 rating was the best individual mark in the game, and it matched what the match looked like: the most dangerous attacker on the pitch was the one wearing Congo DR's colours.

There is a small split in the wider tournament framing around his overall goal count. This match data confirms two goals here, and tournament coverage elsewhere has him on three World Cup goals in total. The important point for this game is simpler: Uzbekistan had no answer once Wissa found his timing.

The comeback had more to it than the finish

Uzbekistan struck first through Eldor Shomurodov in the 10th minute, which could easily have pushed Congo DR into a messy afternoon. Instead, they stayed in the game long enough for the better attacking moments to arrive later.

They also had an early setback when a Congo DR goal was ruled out in the 17th minute after a foul on Sherzod Nasrullaev. At that stage, the risk was obvious. A team playing knockout football after such a long absence could have drifted into frustration.

Congo DR did not play like that. They kept enough control to wait for the match to turn. When Wissa levelled from the spot, the shift felt deserved, and Fiston Mayele's 78th-minute goal off the bench gave them the lead they had been chasing.

It is also worth remembering that this squad carries plenty of recognisable experience around the pitch, even if Wissa took the headline. Cédric Bakambu and Chancel Mbemba are among the senior names in the group, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Arthur Masuaku, Axel Tuanzebe, Noah Sadiki, Theo Bongonda, Ngal'ayel Mukau and S. Moutoussamy give Desabre a side with enough depth to absorb a bad opening spell without losing structure.

For Uzbekistan, players such as Abbosbek Fayzullaev and Abdukodir Khusanov were part of a side that started well enough to lead, but the game slipped once Congo DR found better rhythm in the final third.

England next, and a bigger stage for Wissa

The next part is obvious now: England await, and Wissa goes into that tie as the player most likely to give Congo DR a real puncher's chance. Two goals in this game are the hard fact. The wider context makes it more interesting, because Congo DR are not just making up the numbers after returning from a 52-year World Cup absence.

They have already shown they can recover inside a match, and that matters in knockout football more than romantic backstory ever will. Falling behind to Uzbekistan, losing an early goal to a foul decision, then winning 3-1 is a decent test of nerve.

England will bring a different level of problem, and Congo DR will need more than one hot finishing display to stay in the tournament. Still, Wissa has given them exactly what underdogs need at this stage: a forward in form, a fresh result with weight behind it, and a round-of-32 tie that now looks worth watching for more than sentiment.

FAQ

Why was Yoane Wissa the key player in Congo DR's win over Uzbekistan?

Wissa scored twice in Congo DR's 3-1 win, first from the penalty spot in the 68th minute and then again in the 90th minute plus 1 from the edge of the box. He also finished with an 8.0 rating and six shots, which underlined how much of Congo DR's attack ran through him.

Who do Congo DR play next after beating Uzbekistan at World Cup 2026?

Congo DR's comeback win over Uzbekistan sent them into a meeting with England next. The result kept their knockout run alive after they returned to the World Cup for the first time in 52 years.

Did Yoane Wissa score two or three goals in the tournament?

He scored twice in this match against Uzbekistan. Across the tournament, some coverage describes him as having three World Cup goals in total, while the match report itself only covers the two goals from this game. The safest reading is two in this fixture and three overall in the tournament context cited elsewhere.

How did Congo DR come back against Uzbekistan?

Congo DR conceded in the 10th minute when Eldor Shomurodov scored for Uzbekistan, and they also had a Nathanael Mbuku goal ruled out in the 17th minute. They stayed in the game, then turned it through Wissa's penalty, Fiston Mayele's 78th-minute goal off the bench and Wissa's late second.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →