World Cup 2026: Daniel Muñoz's late goal lifts Colombia over Congo DR and to top of Group K
Colombia was beating on the door all night, and Congo DR's Lionel Mpasi-Nzau could only hold them off for so long.
The goalkeeper delivered a monster outing, holding off a barrage of shots before Colombia's Daniel Muñoz was able to break the scoreless deadlock with a deflected shot from inside the box in the 76th minute.
The slight deflection left Mpasi-Nzau frozen in no-man's land and gave Colombia a 1-0 win.
It was a culmination of a long day at the office as Muñoz, Luis Díaz and James Rodríguez made Mpasi-Nzau's night a rough one, peppering him with shots on goal throughout the game. The Congolese keeper had five saves in the first 20 minutes of the first half and added a few more from there, finishing with eight in the game.
On the other end, Congo finished with a couple legitimate chances but it was a relatively listless offensive performance from the African team.
After a group-opening win over Uzbekistan and the victory on Tuesday, Colombia is sitting pretty in Group K with a Saturday night matchup against Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal remaining.
How result impacts Group K picture
Colombia sits atop Group K heading into the final matchday after beating DR Congo and can secure first place with a win or draw against Portugal.
Portugal remains well positioned to advance and would clinch a spot in the Round of 32 with a draw against Colombia. DR Congo and Uzbekistan are still alive, but both need a win in their head-to-head meeting and likely help elsewhere to get a third-place berth.
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