Congo DR 3-1 Uzbekistan: FIFA World Cup Match Report

Congo DR were losing at half-time and won by two: Congo DR 3-1 Uzbekistan was the largest turnaround in Group K and the only match in the group to produce more than three goals.

The context made the response necessary. Congo DR came into the final matchday on one point, from a 1-1 draw with Portugal and a 1-0 defeat to Colombia — a campaign in which they had been competitive in both matches and had almost nothing to show for it. Uzbekistan came in with none, having lost 3-1 to Colombia and 5-0 to Portugal. Trailing 0-1 at the interval to the weakest side in the group, with elimination otherwise confirmed, was the worst position available to Congo DR all tournament.

Three goals in a second half is a substantial answer from a team that had scored once across its previous two matches. Congo DR finished the group with four scored and three conceded, and three of those four goals came in this forty-five-minute stretch. Uzbekistan finished with two scored and eleven conceded from three games.

It gave Congo DR four points and third place in Group K, behind Colombia on seven and Portugal on five. In a group where the top two both conceded a single goal across three matches, taking a point off Portugal and beating Uzbekistan by two was close to the maximum available to anyone else.

Uzbekistan's tournament ended without a point and with the worst goal difference in the group by a wide margin. They conceded three or more in all three matches and led at half-time only here, which makes this the closest they came to altering that record.

The result had no bearing on the top of the group — Colombia and Portugal drew 0-0 the same night to finish first and second — but it settled the order beneath them and it settled whether Congo DR would leave with anything to show for a difficult draw.

Our pre-match call was Double Chance 1X (Congo DR or Draw) at 1.42, and for forty-five minutes it was losing. Congo DR trailed at the break to a side that had conceded eight in its two previous matches, which is precisely the sequence a 1.42 price says will not occur.

It came good, and it came good emphatically, but the process deserves a note. The pick rested on Congo DR being the better-organised team, which the group record supports — they were the only side other than Colombia to take a point from Portugal. It did not account for the possibility that an already-eliminated team might start badly against one with nothing left to lose. The outcome was right; the first half was a warning about how thin these short-priced hedges really are.

Verdict: won