Despite a masterclass from goalkeeper Mpasi, Daniel Muñoz’s late deflected strike rewarded Colombia’s relentless pressure and secured their second consecutive victory to clinch World Cup qualification.
Patience eventually prevailed for Colombia and Daniel Muñoz, who showed his attacking instincts once more. Although a lot was owed to a big deflection off Muñoz’s shot that wrong-footed Mpasi. The substitutions of Quintero and Córdoba, were also crucial to the goal.
A busy start had been had for M’Pasi, who inside the game’s first quarter was producing an impressive highlight reel. He saved a stinging shot from Rodríguez and then stood firm again to save Puerta’s attempt. Colombia had done everything but find the finishing touch.
After DR Congo started the match positively in Colombian territory through Kayembe’s venomous shot that fizzed wide, Colombia quickly responded with a punch of their own. First M’Pasi pulled off a great save low down to his right to deny Arias, before Muñoz side-footed the rebound inches past the near post with the goal gaping. The first Colombian warning sign.
The second opportunity arrived minutes later. Similarly to the first game, Muñoz broke into the box in trademark fashion and scored - the power beating the goalkeeper, only to be greeted by the offside flag. Colombia got so much joy from that kind of situation because of the position James Rodríguez took up. He attracted the attention, allowing Muñoz to ghost in undetected.
For DR Congo, they had very little respite but defended with a dogged determination.
The second half saw Colombia start with more patience, and that patience nearly paid off in the 50th minute - the ball broke to Colombia’s danger man Díaz, and you expected the net to bulge, but no, Mpasi was equal to it once more.
You could sense the irritation from Colombian players and supporters alike.
Just before the hour mark, Néstor Lorenzo turned to his bench for reinforcements - Córdoba and Quintero came on for Rodríguez and Suárez. The changes were crucial in the first game; Colombia were hoping for a similar scenario in this game - and they got it.
The instructions for the substitutes were clear: Quintero was brought on to dictate the tempo and play the deep-lying playmaker role, while Córdoba was asked to make a nuisance of himself and occupy the stubborn DR Congo defence.
The DR Congo pressure came in the last knockings of the game. The Leopards finished with a flurry of chances but could not find a equaliser. Concentration was key for Vargas in the Colombian goal in keeping a clean sheet.
Colombia maintained perfect startColombia have maintained their perfect start to the World Cup, strengthening their position as the competition’s dark horse.
At times it was not pretty but they got the job done and that is all that mattered in tournament football.
With qualification secured, attention now turned to their third group match against Portugal, which was set to define whether they progressed as group winners or settled for second place. Colombia would have been encouraged by their consistency, but equally aware that sharper finishing would be required if they were to turn strong performances into a deeper tournament run.
DR Congo remained competitive but faced growing pressure to progress
The DR Congo gameplan was nearly executed to perfection. If not for their goalkeeper though, the scoreline could have been a lot worse.
The wider picture of the group though, suggested DR Congo had shown enough resilience in their World Cup campaign to suggest they would not be an easy opponent for anyone should they progress from the group stages.
The assignment was now clear. DR Congo had to beat Uzbekistan to keep their World Cup hopes alive, and it was a fixture they would have felt capable of winning. Uzbekistan had looked short of confidence and quality across their opening matches, and DR Congo would have taken encouragement from that as they approached a must-win encounter that would define whether their tournament continued beyond the group stage.
