🇨🇴 Colombia vs 🇨🇩 DR Congo

Colombia finished second at the 2024 Copa América, beating Brazil along the way. They come into this tournament with real momentum and a squad full of players performing at the highest level in Europe. They tend to get overlooked and then cause problems.

Luis Díaz from Liverpool is arguably their best player — one of the most direct and unpredictable wide players in the world. When he's on form he is genuinely unplayable. If Colombia do well, he'll be the reason.

James Rodríguez, now 33, is still involved and still the creative heartbeat. His partnership with younger players like Díaz gives Colombia genuine quality at both ends. He's the kind of player who can unlock tight games with one pass.

They're in Group K with Portugal, DR Congo and Uzbekistan. Portugal are heavy favourites to top the group, but Colombia are the team most capable of upsetting that expectation. Second place from this group is a realistic and valuable outcome.

Colombia's football culture is deep and passionate — the game is central to national identity in a way that's hard to overstate. Their fans travel in enormous numbers and are known for their noise. Worth knowing if you end up in a pub with Colombians.

DR Congo are at the World Cup for the first time since 1974 — a 52-year absence finally ended. That's not a gap, that's a generational story. Whatever happens, this matters enormously to a lot of people.

They have real talent in the squad — Silas of Stuttgart and Cédric Bakambu are the most recognised names internationally, but the squad has depth built through the competitive African qualifiers. They earned this.

DR Congo are in Group K with Portugal, Colombia and Uzbekistan. Portugal are strong favourites, but DR Congo will fancy their chances against Uzbekistan and could cause Colombia problems. They're not there just to make up numbers.

Congolese football has always produced technically gifted players — the domestic league is one of the more competitive in Africa, and the current generation has benefited from better pathways to European football.

The country's passion for football is extraordinary. Matches in Kinshasa attract enormous crowds and the national team's qualification has been met with widespread celebration. If you want to feel good about football, this is one of the stories to follow.