Ronaldo’s Portugal open their World Cup against a DR Congo side back after 52 years

Cristiano Ronaldo will walk out in Houston on Wednesday night for what is almost certainly the last World Cup opener of his career, and Portugal will hope the occasion belongs to them rather than to the team standing in their way. DR Congo are back at the tournament for the first time in more than half a century, and they have not travelled to the United States to make up the numbers.

Portugal begin their Group K campaign as one of the tournament favourites. Roberto Martinez has a deep, balanced squad and a settled qualifying record behind him, and in Ronaldo, at 41, he still has the most recognisable footballer on the planet leading the line in a sixth World Cup. How much the veteran plays, and how Portugal balance his presence with their younger attacking talent, is the question that has followed this team for two years.

A Portugal side built to go deep

Martinez’s group came through qualifying as group winners, losing only once along the way, a defeat to the Republic of Ireland that did little to dent their standing. The talent runs well beyond Ronaldo. Portugal can call on a midfield and forward line that would walk into most squads at this World Cup, and the expectation back home is not merely to qualify from the group but to challenge for the trophy itself.

That depth is exactly why an opening game like this carries a particular kind of danger. Favourites are expected to win comfortably, and anything less than a convincing start invites questions. Martinez will want his side to settle the tie early rather than let DR Congo grow into it.

DR Congo arrive with belief

For DR Congo, simply being here is an achievement decades in the making. Their last World Cup appearance came in 1974, when they played as Zaire, and they booked their place this time the hard way, coming through an intercontinental playoff with an extra-time win over Jamaica. A team that fought through that route will not be overawed by the stage.

They are well organised and difficult to break down, with several players who have tested themselves in Europe’s top leagues, and Yoane Wissa gives them a forward capable of punishing a moment of carelessness. Their plan will be familiar to anyone who has watched an underdog at a major tournament: stay compact, frustrate the favourites, and wait for the half-chance that turns a game.

What to expect

The two nations have never met before, which removes any history for either side to lean on. Portugal have the quality to win this comfortably if they play to their level, but openers have a habit of being cagey, and a confident DR Congo could make the early going uncomfortable.

Kick-off is at 10:30pm IST. For Ronaldo, another World Cup begins with the same mix of expectation and scrutiny that has defined his international career. For DR Congo, it is the start of a story 52 years in the making.

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