Meet Yoane Wissa, who scored DR Congo’s first-ever goal at a World Cup
Key takeaways
- Wissa, who nearly lost his sight in 2021, scored a header that marked DR Congo’s historic return to the World Cup with a point.
- The goal served as an equaliser after Joao Neves scored for Portugal in the sixth minute to send their fans, who turned the Houston Stadium in the United States into a sea of red, into wild celebrations.
- Wissa’s goal, too, was celebrated in the stadium and across the world as social media users shared videos of Portuguese and Congolese fans revelling in the historic moment from one of Africa’s most high-profile players.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Wissa, who nearly lost his sight in 2021, scored a header that marked DR Congo’s historic return to the World Cup with a point.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo The 29-year-old forward drew DR Congo level against the pre-tournament favourites upon his country's return to football's World Cup [Annegret Hilse/Reuters]By Anushe Engineer Published On 17 Jun 202617 Jun 2026Yoane Wissa made history for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) when he scored the team’s first-ever goal at a World Cup in the group stage match against one of the tournament favourites, Portugal, in Houston.
The 29-year-old Newcastle United forward made the most of a corner five minutes into the second half of the match on Wednesday, as his header found the back of the net — and made history — upon DR Congo’s return to the World Cup after 52 years.