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
AI Match Analysis
Pre-match fact packAI data updated:
AI analysis was last updated 3h 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 337 points
Data comparison
Elo ratingΔ 337
Portugal
1989
DR Congo
1652
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
- José Sá · Goalkeeper — José Sá is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 33.
- Rui Silva · Goalkeeper — Rui Silva is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 32.
Key players — DR Congo
- Timothy Fayulu · Goalkeeper — Timothy Fayulu is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 26.
- Lionel Mpasi · Goalkeeper — Lionel Mpasi is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 31.
Tactical angle
Match status: scheduled; POR vs COD kicks off at 2026-06-17T17:00:00Z. This fact-pack analysis for Portugal (POR) and DR Congo (COD) is tied to group K at NRG Stadium, Houston, USA. Elo lists POR at 1989 and COD at 1652, a 337 point gap. Roster data lists POR with 26 players at average age 27.5, and COD with 26 players at average age 28.5. It uses only the verified fact pack and does not add incidents beyond matchState.
What to watch
- • Venue setting: NRG Stadium, Houston, USA.
- • Ranking and Elo comparison: POR 1989 / COD 1652 / diff 337.
- • Roster availability and squad size: POR 26 / COD 26.
Fact box
- • Scheduled UTC: 2026-06-17T17:00:00Z
- • Status: scheduled
- • Stage: group K
- • Venue: NRG Stadium, Houston
- • FIFA ranks: POR 6, COD 60
factpack-template-v1✓ static-checks+factpackeloratings.net · football-data.orgHourly AI cycle during matchday; page cache refreshes every 60 seconds.
Structured fact-pack summary generated from verified match data. 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 is scheduled for Wed, Jun 17, 05:00 PM UTC. 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 updates match status, scores and fixture links before and during matchday.
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.
