Wissa double sends DR Congo into World Cup last 32 to face England

ATLANTA: Yoane Wissa scored twice as DR Congo came from behind to beat Uzbekistan 3-1 on Saturday, securing a place in the World Cup last 32 for the first time in the country's history and setting up a meeting with England.

The result also gave DR Congo their first ever World Cup victory. Uzbekistan had gone ahead through Eldor Shomurodov, whose lob over goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi put the Uzbeks in front after an early spell in which they started strongly. Before that, Shomurodov had found the net inside 30 seconds, but the effort was ruled out for offside.

Fabio Cannavaro's side went into the match knowing they were realistically out because of the scale of the goal-difference swing needed to advance, but the former Italy defender had underlined the value of finishing their first World Cup campaign with a win. His players responded with an aggressive opening, and captain Shomurodov, Uzbekistan's all-time leading scorer, delivered the breakthrough 10 minutes in with a deft finish from a tight angle.

VAR setback before comeback

DR Congo thought they had equalised when Nathanael Mbuku struck into the top corner, only for the goal to be disallowed after a VAR review. The decision went against Mbuku for a foul in the build-up after his hand made contact with the face of Uzbek defender Sherzod Nasrullaev.

Wissa, who had also scored in DR Congo's 1-1 draw with Portugal earlier in the tournament, missed a good chance to level early in the second half. At the other end, Shomurodov nearly added another memorable goal, this time seeing an attempted lob from the edge of the area drop onto the roof of the net.

DR Congo coach Sebastien Desabre said Wissa was showing the best version of himself after a difficult first season at Newcastle following a 55 million ($73 million) move from Brentford. The forward then proved decisive when Abdukodir Khusanov, a Manchester City player, brought him down with a rash challenge.

Wissa turns the match

Wissa converted the resulting penalty, sending goalkeeper Abduvohid Nematov the wrong way and sparking loud celebrations among a crowd of nearly 70,000, most of them supporting the Congolese side. Just two minutes later, DR Congo moved ahead when Meschack Elia's deflected shot sat up for Fiston Mayele, who got to the ball ahead of Nematov and flicked it into the net.

Wissa completed the comeback in stoppage time, curling a shot into the far corner from the edge of the box for his third goal of the tournament and sealing a landmark win. DR Congo had opened their campaign by earning their first World Cup point in a 1-1 draw against Portugal, before a 1-0 defeat to Colombia.

DR Congo's progress added to a strong tournament for African teams. Tunisia were the only one of the 10 African sides already eliminated, while Algeria still had a chance to join the eight African nations that had reached the last 32 in the remaining group matches later on Saturday.