By Nick Said
HOUSTON, June 15 (Reuters) - Portugal’s latest bid for World Cup glory begins in Houston on Wednesday when they take on the Democratic Republic of Congo in a Group K clash against a side appearing at their first global finals in 52 years.
DR Congo played as Zaire when they took part in the 1974 World Cup but lost all three games, conceded 14 goals and scored none. They are unlikely to be so poor again.
Portugal have 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo aiming to win one of the last remaining pieces
of major silverware to have eluded him in his illustrious career.
They exited in the quarter-finals at the hands of another African side, Morocco, at the 2022 finals, while their best finish is third in 1966.
A positive start is important in a pool that also contains Colombia and Uzbekistan.
They have lost only two of their last 15 World Cup group-stage matches, but one of those was to South Korea in 2022.
"We know the World Cup is a fast competition," Portugal defender Matheus Nunes said. "There are only eight games, and when we play against all these national teams, I think they all have a lot of quality nowadays.
"We have to approach every game as if it were a final, because in theory there may be teams that look weaker, maybe on paper, but then on the field, it's a match, and in a match anything can happen.
"Ninety minutes is a long time, and we have to be more than ready to win every game."
Portugal defender Ruben Dias trained separately from the rest of the squad on Monday for undisclosed reasons.
Portugal are unbeaten in their last five World Cup group-stage matches against African opponents, recording four wins and a draw since a 3-1 loss to Morocco in 1986.
DISRUPTED PLANS
DRC have had a disrupted build-up to the tournament due to the Ebola virus outbreak back home.
The majority of their players are based in Europe and none play for clubs in the DRC, but were subjected to a 21-day stay in camp in Belgium and Spain before being allowed to enter the United States.
They have since been well received in Houston and have looked relaxed and ready for the tournament, despite a 0-0 draw with Denmark and 2-1 loss to Chile in friendlies.
"We adapted to the situation," coach Sebastien Desabre said. "We had to focus, as we have had to adapt often. That is what we did.
"We worked well, we played two tough friendlies and here we are. Now, it is another step for us. It is up to us to put up a good showing in this tournament."
DRC booked their ticket to this year’s finals through the World Cup intercontinental play‑off tournament, defeating Jamaica 1-0 after extra time.
(Reporting by Nick Said; Additional reporting by Ayhan Uyanik and Joyce Zhao, editing by Ed Osmond)
