Portugal v DR Congo: World Cup 2026 – live

Published 17 June 2026 · sports

⚽️ Kick-off: 12pm local time/1pm EDT/6pm BST/3am AEST ⚽️ Player guide Bracketology Golden Boot Mail Daniel Rui Patricio; Cédric, Fonte, Pepe, Guerreiro; Carvalho; Sanches, Silva

⚽️ Kick-off: 12pm local time/1pm EDT/6pm BST/3am AEST ⚽️ Player guide Bracketology Golden Boot Mail Daniel Rui Patricio; Cédric, Fonte, Pepe, Guerreiro; Carvalho; Sanches, Silva, João Mário; Nani, Ronaldo: names branded on to the soul of all Portuguese football fans.

And yet the team which won the 2016 Euros, a first international title after a long wait and much pain, is so inferior to the one that’s since failed even to get close, it’s almost silly.

Football, though, is an art not a science, the job of balancing a team needing feel as much as calculation – feel which eluded Fernando Santos and, so far, has eluded Roberto Martínez too.

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