The teams from Portugal and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) faced each other this Wednesday (17), in Houston, in the United States. In the debut of the Group K teams, the score ended 1-1, with a taste of victory for DR Congo who scored for the first time in a World Cup. Related news: See Wednesday's games for the 2026 World Cup. Neymar returns to training with the team 2 days before the game against Haiti. The first half of the match was hectic. Portugal opened the scoring in the first six minutes. Pedro Neto crossed the ball to João Neves, a midfielder, who scored with a header, in a moment of disorganization on the part of the opponent. At 1.74m, Neves, who plays for the Paris Saint-Germain club, is considered short. The European team remained in possession of the ball most of the game, but attacked less. Cristiano Ronaldo, the main scorer, was unable to be accessed, due to the opponent's strong pressing. ⚽ Stay up to date with matches and results. See the points table by groups Winning on the field, Portugal cooled down and became slower. And the reaction of the Leopards, the nickname of the DR Congo team, came in the final minutes. On a stolen ball at the end of a quick counterattack, Samuel Moutoussamy shot home. The ball deflected off the mark and went out for a corner. In a beautiful move, in the 45th minute, Arthur Masuaku crossed for Yoane Wissa to head free and score for DRC. Previously, Os Leopardos' main chance occurred in the opening minutes, when Wissa, in an attempt for a rebound, shot at the goal, but the ball went out of bounds. The team finished eight times against Diogo Costa's goal.cé In the second half, Portugal had a goal by João Cancelo disallowed for offside, but it was not easy to get rid of the marking. DR Congo reached high balls and managed to prevent dangerous shots. >> Follow the Agência Brasil channel on WhatsApp DR Congo tightened its grip and players found themselves confused on the field, after a foul in favor of Portugal, in the 22nd minute. Soon after, in a play on the right, Francisco Conceição made the ball reach Cristiano Ronaldo, who shot poorly. He had another chance soon after, in a triangulation with Bruno Fernandes, Conceição and the top scorer himself. The Congolese also missed the chance to extend their lead on the scoreboard in a move with Cédric Bakambu, who always refers to the humanitarian crisis faced by his country when scoring a goal. In the 31st minute of the second half, in a counterattack from the left, the attacker received the pass, but didn't hit it well and the ball went over the goal. Portugal pressed again, mainly with Conceição. The Congolese reacted, counterattacked and the fans screamed, boosting The Leopards, who maintained their marking and prevented shots on goal from the Europeans. In the second round of Group K, Portugal faces Uzbekistan, in Houston, on Tuesday (23), while in Guadalajara, Mexico, DR Congo faces Colombia.