Portugal thrashed Uzbekistan 5-0 to claim its first win of the World Cup. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

The second round of Group K match at FIFA World Cup 2026 came to an end with Colombia beating DR Congo 1-0 in a hard-fought encounter.

With that win, Colombia confirmed its spot in the round of 32. Earlier, Portugal had thrashed Uzbekistan 5-0 to claim its first win of the World Cup.

Group K

Qualification scenarios:

In the final round, Colombia and Portugal will face off while, DR Congo will go up against Uzbekistan.

A win for Portugal would ensure it finishes as the group topper. A draw would result in Colombia topping the group and Portugal landing the runner-up spot.

Even if Portugal loses and drops to third, it would likely qualify as one of the best eight third-placed teams as it already has four points in the bag.

For DR Congo, anything less than a win wouldn’t suffice. To finish as group runner-up, it would require beating Uzbekistan by a large margin and hope for a big Portugal defeat, in order to swing the goal difference (Portugal and DR Congo had earlier played out a 1-1 draw, taking head-to-head out of equation).

Even a narrow win would likely be enough for DR Congo to qualify as one of the best third-placed teams.

For Uzbekistan, the task is trickier. Even with a win against Congo, the Asian side can’t finish higher than third. With a poor goal difference in hand, it is unlikely that Uzbekistan will rank highly among the third-placed teams.

Published on Jun 24, 2026