Photo credit: NBC News
Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal teammates were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw by Congo on Wednesday in their opening match at the World Cup.
The Inquirer reports that Congo, playing its first World Cup game in 52 years, became the second African nation to make a strong start in the tournament against European competition following Cape Verde’s 0-0 draw with Spain on Monday.
“The World Cup is a tournament where this happens,” said Portugal coach Roberto Martinez, a Spaniard who coached Belgium to the semifinals at the 2018 tournament. “At times, the performance is not up to the challenge.”
Playing in front of a 68,777-crowd of spectators, mostly filled with Portuguese supporters, Congo earned its first point at the World Cup after losing all three of its previous matches.
Joao Neves gave Portugal an early lead in the sixth minute.
But Yoane Wissa equalized for Congo with a header in stoppage time at the end of the first half off a cross from Arthur Masuaku.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s Caleb Yirenkyi scored a 95th-minute winner to deny Panama their first-ever World Cup point in Toronto.
The BBC reports that with six minutes added on at the end of the match, Brandon Thomas-Asante raced down the left, beat his marker, and squared the ball for Yirenkyi, who tapped in.
Panama almost took the lead inside the first two minutes, but Cecilio Waterman’s strike was tipped over the bar by Ghana’s keeper Lawrence Ati Zigi.
