Wednesday, June 17 | 1 p.m. ET | Houston | TV: Fox
Odds: Portugal (-370), Congo DR (+1000), Tie (+470)
Portugal begins the World Cup as the co-No. 3 favorite with England behind France and Spain at +700. The Portuguese may have the best midfield in the tournament with Bruno Fernandes, Bernando Silva, Vitinha and João Neves. The defense is pretty good too. If there’s a question about the team, it’s about how well Cristiano Ronaldo can lead the front line at the age of 41.
Ronaldo will again be the focal point of the Portugal attack despite spending the last four seasons in the Saudi Pro League. He scored 28 goals and had two assists across 30 matches for Al-Nassr in 2025-26.
DR Congo is making its first World Cup appearance since it was in the tournament as Zaire in 1974. In that tournament, Zaire lost 9-0 to Yugoslavia. We’re confident a blowout like that isn’t going to happen again to DR Congo.
In fact, this is a team that has a real chance of getting to the knockout rounds. DR Congo knocked off Cameroon and Nigeria in the second round of African qualifying and then beat Jamaica 1-0 in extra time to make it to the World Cup. The team features Premier League players like Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Noah Sadiki and Joanne Wissa.