Yoane Wissa scored a brace in the second half as the Democratic Republic of the Congo rallied for a 3-1 victory over Uzbekistan Saturday in Atlanta to deliver the Leopards into the knockout round for the first time in World Cup history.
Fiston Mayele also tallied for DR Congo (1-1-1, 4 points) in a furious blitz during which the Leopards scored three goals in a span of 23 minutes after trailing by a goal for more than half of the match.
Lionel Mpasi made one save for DR Congo, who finished in the third place in Group K after qualifying for the World Cup for the first time since their initial appearance in the tournament in 1974, when the country was named Zaire.
They’ll stay in Atlanta to face Group L winner England on Wednesday in the round of 32.
Eldor Shomurodov tallied in the 10th minute for Uzbekistan (0-0-3, 0 points), who were eliminated after being outscored 11-2 in group play during their first World Cup appearance.
Uzbekistan applied pressure from the start, using long balls to find openings in the DR Congo defense. Before the match was a minute old, Shumurodov appeared to score on a rebound of a Mpasi save. But the tally was negated by an offside call.
Uzbekistan took the lead on a sensational combination. Akmal Mozgovoy triggered it with a long ball to the left side of the box. Abbosbek Fayzullaev redirected it with the back of his foot outside to Shumurodov who looped a shot over Mpasi and into the top right corner.
DR Congo appeared to tie it in the 17th minute as Nathanael Mbuku fired a laser from the left side of the box inside the left post. But Mbuku was called for a foul before his shot as he freed himself with a hand to the face of trailing defender Sherzod Nasrullaev.
In the second half, DR Congo dominated possession but had difficulty generating quality chances against Uzbekistan keeper Abduvohid Nematov (one save).
The game changed midway through the second half when Uzbekistan’s Abdukodir Khusanov was called for fouling Wissa in the box. Wissa got Nematov to dive the wrong way on the ensuing penalty kick, burying it in the lower-right corner to tie it 1-1.
Ten minutes later, Mayele scored the go-ahead goal on a deft flick with his right foot over an onrushing Nematov.
DR Congo essentially ended it one minute into stoppage time as Meschack Elia kept a loose ball alive at the end line and found Wissa open on the left side of the box.
Wissa fired a brilliant shot into the lower-right corner for his third World Cup goal. With the tally, a team celebration ensued in front of the supporters’ section, with teammates lifting Wissa on their shoulders.
