Muñoz’s late strike sends Colombia past DR Congo and into the last 32

Colombia needed a moment of quality to break down a stubborn DR Congo, and Daniel Muñoz provided it. The full-back’s strike on 76 minutes settled a tight Group K contest 1-0 on June 23, sending Colombia to the top of the group and through to the last 32 at the World Cup.

Muñoz finds the breakthrough

For long stretches this looked like being one of those nights where the chances pile up and the goal refuses to come. Colombia were on top from the start, peppering the DR Congo box early on, but Lionel Mpasi was in the mood. The goalkeeper kept his side level with a string of saves, and the longer the game stayed goalless the more dangerous the draw felt for a Colombia team that wanted the win to seal qualification.

The opening finally arrived with 14 minutes left, on 76 minutes. Juan Fernando Quintero slipped the ball through and Muñoz, arriving from full-back, finished it off to give Colombia the lead their pressure deserved. There might have been more before the end, with Luis Díaz twice thinking he had added a second only to be pulled back for a foul in the build-up and then for offside, but one goal was enough.

Colombia top the group

The win takes Colombia to six points and top of Group K, and books their place in the knockout rounds with a game to spare. It sets up a final-day meeting with Portugal on June 27 that will decide who finishes first, a tie worth winning given how the seedings shake out in the new 48-team draw.

That Colombia got there without hitting top gear will not bother Néstor Lorenzo. A clean sheet, a settled defence and Quintero pulling strings in midfield is a useful template to carry into the last 32.

DR Congo still breathing

For DR Congo, the defeat was a chance missed but not the end. Mpasi’s display kept them in the contest until late, and they sit third on a single point from their two games. Beat Uzbekistan in their final match on June 27 and they could yet sneak through as one of the best third-placed sides, the kind of lifeline the expanded format hands to teams that would once have been long gone.

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