Colombia 1-0 DR Congo: Munoz 76
In what seemed like a World Cup reenactment of Shaolin Soccer, DR Congo’s goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi proved indomitable for what seemed an interminable period against the barrage of shots from Colombia.
When his shield was finally broken it was also deeply unsatisfying, half of the DR Congo team and probably the goalkeeper as well having been distracted by a Colombian appeal for a penalty, allowing Daniel Munoz to sneak in from the right channel and sneak a shot past Mpasi.
The result sends Colombia through to the knockouts with a game to spare and leaves them well placed to finish top of Group K ahead of their meeting with Portugal. DR Congo, who held Portugal in their opener, must now beat Uzbekistan in their final match to keep their own qualification hopes alive.
Colombia proved here again that they are highly attack minded, overwhelming their opponents with quick, incisive play during a relentless opening half. Jhon Arias tested Mpasi early, while Munoz thought he had opened the scoring after following up a rebound, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside.
The Congo goalkeeper then stretched full length to turn away a long-range drive from James Rodriguez, denied Luis Diaz from close range and then reacted superbly to keep out efforts from Johan Mojica and Gustavo Puerta as Colombia piled on the pressure. The south American side had in total, in this game, nine shots on target, all of which were very good strikes, eight of which were kept out by Mpasi.
The deadlock was broken with 14 minutes to go in normal time, and as DR Congo then tried to create some attacking opportunities of their own, spaces opened up and Diaz threatened heavily. The Bayern Munich winger thought he had doubled the lead twice in quick succession but both goals were ruled out for offside.
Late in the game, Congo had a chance to draw level when Nathanael Mbuku fired from outside the box, but Camilo Vargas stretched out to pull off his own excellent save. The African side’s last chance was from a corner, but Vargas was again on hand to gather safely after Chancel Mbemba’s header to the far post was weakened by a deflection off the foot of his own man.
