Portugal held by DR Congo as World Cup fans embrace historic start

The first days of the 2026 World Cup have already turned into a roaming civic spectacle, with flags, chants and travel schedules becoming as visible as the scores themselves. Portugal’s 1-1 draw with RD Congo in Houston, England’s 4-2 opening win over Croatia in Dallas and Colombia’s crowd-heavy arrival in Mexico City showed how quickly supporter culture can outshine the result on the pitch.

Portugal left Houston with only a point from its Group K debut at Houston Stadium, also known as NRG Stadium, but the draw did not dim the mood around the team. The match on June 17 ended 1-1, and Portugal’s supporters still spoke as if the tournament’s larger promise remained intact, with the group stage still offering a path toward the final. The World Cup itself is the 23rd edition and the first to feature 48 teams and three hosts, Canada, Mexico and the United States, a scale that has made every opening match feel like a moving national gathering.

For RD Congo, the night carried a different kind of significance. The point against Portugal was its first of the tournament, and local coverage in Houston reported that the Congolese community celebrated the country’s first World Cup goal in 52 years with special intensity. That history gave the celebration a force that went well beyond the scoreboard, especially against a European power expected to advance deep into the knockout rounds.

England’s supporters delivered a similarly emphatic show of belief in Dallas, where England beat Croatia 4-2 in its Group L opener. Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford all scored as England announced itself as an early contender, and its fans answered with the kind of certainty that follows a dominant opening performance. England’s next test comes against Ghana on June 23 in Boston, another traveling checkpoint for a fan base suddenly looking far beyond the group stage.

In Mexico City, Colombia’s supporters made perhaps the clearest statement about what this World Cup means away from the standings. Colombia’s debut against Uzbekistan at Estadio Azteca drew large numbers of Colombian fans to the capital, filling the area around the stadium with color and noise. FIFA had already framed Mexico City as symbolic to the opening of the tournament, and that meaning was visible in the stands and on the streets as Latin American supporters claimed the stage for themselves. Portugal will face Uzbekistan in Houston on June 23 and Colombia in Miami on June 27, extending a tournament that is already being defined as much by its traveling crowds as by the teams they follow.