Axel Tuanzebe Leads Congo to World Cup Draw Against Portugal
Axel Tuanzebe walked off the pitch in Houston with a grin that said everything. No guilt, no hesitation, no apologies. He had just helped drag Congo to a result that will echo all the way back to Kinshasa – and left his old mentor Cristiano Ronaldo looking every one of his 41 years.
Years ago at Carrington, Tuanzebe was the kid asking questions, soaking up advice from the superstar in the next dressing room. In Texas, he was the one dishing out the lesson.
Tuanzebe shuts the door on his old mentor
Congo’s return to the World Cup stage for the first time since 1974 was supposed to be a backdrop for a familiar script: Ronaldo, the global icon, filling his boots against an underdog defence. Instead, Tuanzebe anchored a back line that turned Portugal’s captain into a frustrated bystander.
This was billed as another chance for Ronaldo to answer the noise. Claims that he is too old, too slow, too far past his peak have grown louder with every passing season. What he ran into was a defender who knew his movement, his habits, his hunger – and refused to be overawed.
Tuanzebe didn’t hide the respect he still holds for his former team‑mate, but he made it clear that sentiment stops when the whistle blows.
“Cristiano is still hungry, he still wants to play, he still wants to show everybody how good he is,” Tuanzebe said. “In the box, he wants to get the goals, he wants to get to that magic number of a thousand.
“He will be disappointed, but that's my job. I'm sure Cristiano, wherever he goes, he'll bring a swarm of fans with him. But ultimately, we're just happy about the result.”
Happy was an understatement. This was a defensive masterclass from Congo, with Tuanzebe at its core, that stripped Ronaldo of time, space and rhythm. The man who has spent a career deciding games found himself reduced to half-chances and hopeful moments.
Congo show no fear
If Tuanzebe chose his words carefully, his team‑mate Ngaleyel Mukau did not bother with diplomacy.
Respect? Yes. Fear? None.
“He's one of the greatest to ever play the game. So much respect to him,” Mukau said. “But to be honest, there was no plan, not really, because we know that he isn't the same as before.
“He's a bit older now. When you get old like that, it's not the same effort that you can make.”
No special scheme. No man-marking obsession. Congo backed their legs, their energy and their organisation, and it showed. They defended as if every tackle was a statement that they belonged back on this stage.
Portugal still carried threat. They always do. But the pressure never quite broke Congo. Every time the ball swung towards Ronaldo, a blue shirt was there, tight, aggressive, refusing to give him the half-yard he has lived off for two decades.
Ronaldo left to search for answers
Ronaldo, as ever, fronted up afterwards. He stopped to sign autographs, still mobbed, still magnetic, and tried to make sense of a night that slipped away from Portugal.
“What was missing? Nothing was missing, that's football,” he said. “Portugal could have won, but it could also have lost. It could have gone either way.”
On social media, he tried to reset the mood: “It wasn't the start we wanted, but this is far from over. Heads up and focus on the next game.”
The words spoke of perspective. The images on the pitch told of a man fighting the clock as much as the opposition.
From relegation pain to World Cup joy
For Tuanzebe, the contrast with his club season could not be starker. Relegated with Burnley, he endured a brutal Premier League campaign that stripped away confidence and momentum.
Now, on the biggest stage of all, he has his smile back.
“It's definitely a positive for me personally,” he admitted. “Getting good results always feels good. And, look, it's a massive tournament. It's the biggest event in the world and we want to perform and do well in it.”
This draw does more than rewrite the mood around one defender. It detonates Group calculations. Congo, written off by many before a ball was kicked, now have a platform and a target.
“Our mission now is to qualify,” Tuanzebe said. “We need one win, we've got two games to do that, to get the three points. And we're definitely going to go one hundred per cent at it, whether it be Colombia or Uzbekistan.
“We’re going to go flat out and try to get it done sooner rather than later. So, yeah, we'll be recovering now and getting ready for that game.”
No regrets about Ronaldo. No backward glance at Carrington. For Tuanzebe and Congo, the past is a reference point, not a comfort blanket. The World Cup has finally come back into their lives – and they look in no mood to let it go quietly.
