HOUSTON, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Cristiano Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes but delivered a rather subdued performance as Portugal was held to a surprise 1-1 draw by DR Congo in their FIFA World Cup Group K opener at Houston Stadium on Wednesday.
Portugal struck early when Joao Neves rose high to head home from a corner kick in the sixth minute, sending the Portuguese fans into raptures. The European side controlled much of the possession thereafter, with Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva dictating the tempo from midfield.
Yet the African underdog refused to buckle, as it grabbed a dramatic equalizer deep into first-half stoppage time when Yoane Wissa outjumped his marker to power a header past the Portuguese goalkeeper Diogo Costa, silencing the red-clad majority and igniting celebrations among the Congolese contingent.
Portugal continued to press forward after the break and created a number of scoring opportunities, but failed to convert them into goals. DR Congo, meanwhile, repeatedly threatened the Portuguese goal with sharp counterattacks. Both teams failed to score in the second half as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
The result leaves the group wide open, with Portugal facing an unexpectedly stiff second-round battle against Uzbekistan to avoid dropping more points, while DR Congo will next take on Colombia.
