Portugal’s 2026 World Cup campaign got off to a disappointing start as they failed to beat highly-unfancied DR Congo in their first game of the tournament.
Despite taking the lead very early on, the Leopards pegged them back on the stroke of half-time – following this setback, Portugal failed to respond and were forced to settle for a point. But how did their players get on individually? Here are our official player ratings for Seleção das Quinas’ game against DR Congo.
GK: Diogo Costa – 5
Diogo Costa never really looked settled in this one. DR Congo threatened his goal more than what was expected – there was nothing he could’ve done to prevent the goal, though.
He was routinely pressed by their front two, limiting his level of distribution. All in all, we can only give him a 5/10 – failing to keep a clean sheet against a team that only managed two shots on target against him isn’t exactly inspiring.
RB: Joao Cancelo – 5
Joao Cancelo wasn’t the worst of Portugal’s backline on the day, but the bar was pretty low – it was a shaky defensive display from the lot of them.
Furthermore, Cancelo’s attacking output was limited. We all know how good he can be in the final third, especially during his Manchester City heyday, so this was disappointing from him.
CB: Tomas Araujo – 4
Both of Portugal’s centre-backs were lacklustre against DR Congo, but Tomas Araujo escapes a lower grade for making a crucial interception in the second half that prevented a one-one-one situation.
Outside of this, he really wasn’t great. His marking for their goal was atrocious, but he can share this blame with his defensive partner – he also could’ve been sent off late on.
CB: Renato Veiga – 4
We felt for Renato Veiga in this one. A young defender at just 22 years of age, he was largely bullied by Cedric Bakambu and Yoane Wissa.
We must aim criticism at him for the goal Portugal conceded, as well as Araujo. Roberto Martinez may want to consider changing his backline up a bit for their game against Uzbekistan.