Group K · FIFA World Cup 2026
Portugal vs DR Congo
Portugal vs DR Congo at FIFA World Cup 2026. Wed, Jun 17, 05:00 PM UTC. NRG Stadium.
Kickoff
Venue
NRG Stadium
Houston
Capacity
72,220
Match facts
Group K · Portugal – DR Congo · Kickoff · NRG Stadium, Houston.
Final score: POR 1–1 COD. Pre-kickoff model favorite: POR 74% — miss. Scored in the public AI track record.
Updated · Not betting advice.
AI Post-Match Analysis
Full-time fact packScore: 1–1AI data updated:
AI analysis was last updated 120h ago and may not reflect recent events.
Multi-model consensus
2 of 2 models agreeFacts favour the home side
One-sided profileDecisive factor: Elo gap 293 points
Data comparison
Elo ratingΔ 291
Portugal
1995
DR Congo
1704
FIFA ranking: #6 vs #60
Head-to-head
First ever meeting between these sides
Source: eloratings.net — descriptive strength rating, not a prediction
Key players — Portugal
- Diogo Costa · Goalkeeper — Diogo Costa is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 26; DOB 1999-09-19.
- Bruno Fernandes · Midfield — Bruno Fernandes is listed as Midfield; roster age 31; DOB 1994-09-08.
- Cristiano Ronaldo · Offence — Cristiano Ronaldo is listed as Offence; roster age 41; DOB 1985-02-05.
Key players — DR Congo
- Lionel Mpasi · Goalkeeper — Lionel Mpasi is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 31; DOB 1994-08-01.
- Chancel Mbemba · Defence — Chancel Mbemba is listed as Defence; roster age 31; DOB 1994-08-08.
- Cédric Bakambu · Offence — Cédric Bakambu is listed as Offence; roster age 35; DOB 1991-04-11.
Tactical angle
Match status: ft; score POR 1-1 COD. This post-match update covers Portugal (POR) and DR Congo (COD). Elo lists POR at 1990 and COD at 1712, a 278 point gap. Roster data lists POR with 26 players at average age 27.5, and COD with 26 players at average age 28.5.
What to watch
- • Match status: ft; score POR 1-1 COD for POR vs COD.
- • Venue: NRG Stadium, Houston, USA.
- • Scheduled UTC: 2026-06-17T17:00:00Z.
Fact box
- • Scheduled UTC: 2026-06-17T17:00:00Z.
- • Status: ft / POR 1-1 COD
- • Match status: ft; score POR 1-1 COD for POR vs COD.
- • Venue: NRG Stadium, Houston, USA.
- • FIFA ranks: POR 6, COD 60.
deepseek-v4-pro]✓ kimi-k2.5]eloratings.net · football-data.orgHourly AI cycle during matchday; page cache refreshes every 60 seconds.
Generated from verified structured match data and cross-checked by a second model. Informational only — no predictions, no betting advice.
Kickoff time by timezone
GoalPulse keeps the canonical fixture time in UTC, then renders venue local time and UTC+8 for Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur searchers.
Venue local time
America/Chicago
Local stadium time, generated with the venue IANA timezone rather than the server timezone.
UTC+8 time
Asia/Shanghai
Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur all use UTC+8 during the tournament window, so the clock time is identical.
Canonical UTC
UTC
Canonical source timestamp used by schema, datasets and downstream feeds.
Portugal local time
Europe/Lisbon
Primary home-market time for Portugal; useful when team-country time differs from venue, UTC or UTC+8.
DR Congo local time
Africa/Kinshasa
Primary home-market time for DR Congo; useful when team-country time differs from venue, UTC or UTC+8.
Match quick answers
When is Portugal vs DR Congo?
Portugal vs DR Congo finished 1-1 after the Wed, Jun 17, 05:00 PM UTC kickoff. Venue local time is Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 12:00 PM CDT; UTC+8 time for Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur is Thu, Jun 18, 2026, 01:00 AM GMT+8. Team-local checks: Portugal local time: Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 06:00 PM GMT+1; DR Congo local time: Wed, Jun 17, 2026, 06:00 PM GMT+1.GoalPulse keeps the final score, match status and source-backed fixture links on this page.
Where is Portugal vs DR Congo played?
The match is played at NRG Stadium in Houston, United States, a venue with capacity for 72,220 supporters.
What stage is this match?
This is a group stage match in Group K of the FIFA World Cup 2026. The top two teams in the group and the eight best third-placed teams advance to the Round of 32.
What are the FIFA rankings and coaches?
Portugal are FIFA-ranked #6 and coached by Roberto Martínez. DR Congo are FIFA-ranked #60 and coached by Sébastien Desabre.
Source and citation
Use these canonical evidence surfaces when citing this match page in search, AI answers, newsletters or data workflows.
Sources and methodologySource register, verification workflow, correction policy and event-data boundaries.Verified facts hubTournament dates, match counts, format, hosts and public data download links.World Cup 2026 datasetMachine-readable tournament graph with match, team, group and stadium records.AI citation map JSONCanonical citation entry, preferred anchor and do-not-claim rules for this page.
Match preview
Portugal face DR Congo in the group stage Group K of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. The match kicks off at NRG Stadium in Houston, United States, a venue with a capacity of 72,220.
Portugal enter as the higher-ranked side (FIFA #6) against DR Congo (#60). The a wide ranking gap between the two sides is 54 places. This is a cross-confederation clash: UEFA vs CAF.
Portugal are coached by Roberto Martínez, while DR Congo are led by Sébastien Desabre. Both managers have shaped distinct identities for their squads in the build-up to North America 2026.
In Group K, only the top two teams advance directly to the round of 32, with the third-placed team competing for one of the eight best third-place spots across all 12 groups. A result here can shape the group quickly because the expanded format leaves less recovery margin than a simple top-two table.
FIFA World Cup 2026 is the first edition with 48 teams, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July 2026. A total of 104 matches will be played, the highest in tournament history.
