Will the Leopards make it to the knockout round?

If either of the two underdogs in Group K of the 2026 World Cup wants to advance to the Round of 32, a draw between DR Congo and Uzbekistan is not an option. Otherwise, the Africans would finish third in the group with two points, which in virtually no scenario would be enough to advance to the knockout stage as one of the eight best third-place teams. With a win, however, the Leopards would end up with four points, which would then almost certainly be enough to qualify as one of the eight best third-place teams. With a lot of help from Colombia, the Congolese could theoretically even overtake Portugal, although that would likely require a landslide victory of their own.

The Uzbeks, on the other hand, have virtually no chance left after their crushing 0–5 loss to Portugal. Even if the White Wolves’ predicted victory over Uzbekistan in the DR Congo match comes to pass, a three-point total would result in a disastrous goal difference, meaning they’d need an enormous amount of help to advance to the knockout stage.

While the players from the landlocked Central Asian nation have had to learn the hard way at the 2026 World Cup—having already conceded eight goals—DR Congo has at least managed to impress defensively. They conceded just one goal each in their international matches against Portugal (1–1) and Colombia (0–1). Offensively, however, the Congolese didn’t have much success either. Thus, the prediction that a maximum of two goals will be scored in the final group stage match is certainly plausible. Winamax is offering odds of 1.92 for under 2.5 goals in the DR Congo vs. Uzbekistan match.

DR Congo vs. Uzbekistan AI Prediction

While we expect DR Congo to set the stage for advancing to the knockout stage with a win, the AI prediction for DR Congo vs. Uzbekistan points to the White Wolves earning a point. Tipico is offering odds of 2.10 for the Double Chance X2, which corresponds to a 47.6 percent probability of occurrence.

DR Congo – Statistics & Current Form

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s national soccer team last participated in a World Cup 52 years ago—back then still as Zaire—when it suffered three straight losses in the group stage, including a crushing 0–9 defeat to Yugoslavia, which remains the heaviest World Cup loss of all time. This time around, the Central Africans are performing noticeably better. The Leopards secured their first point on the very first matchday against Portugal (1–1), and their aggressive defensive strategy held up for much of the match against Colombia as well, though the Cafeteros ultimately won the game 1–0 with a late goal.

The quality on offense is definitely there

If Sébastien Desabre’s team manages to beat Uzbekistan in the DR Congo match, the Congolese would very likely advance to the knockout stage with four points and at least a neutral goal difference—which would be a huge success for the nation. The problem, however, is that their approach so far will now have to change. While the Leopards, as nominal underdogs on the first two matchdays, could comfortably park the bus in their own penalty area and wait for spaces to open up, they’ll have to dictate the play against the Uzbeks—who, after two losses and having already conceded eight goals, would likely be quite satisfied with a 0–0 draw.

While we don’t expect Sébastien Desabre to deviate from the defensive back five, we do believe the team is capable of a significantly more offensive interpretation of this system. With Cédric Bakambu (Betis Sevilla) and Yoane Wissa (Newcastle United) up front, they fundamentally have enough quality to convert their offensive efforts into something tangible.

Uzbekistan – Statistics & Current Form

In the run-up to the 2026 World Cup, the Uzbek national soccer team still harbored a faint hope that, as a debutant and underdog, it might be able to pull off a surprise. However, two losses and a total of eight goals conceded have brought Fabio Cannavaro’s squad crashing back down to earth with a bump. The defense looked completely overwhelmed time and again, and the nominally strong center forward Eldor Shomurodov (Basaksehir Istanbul) has been virtually left out of the action so far.

Uzbekistan must significantly improve defensively

The White Wolves are also completely lacking momentum. They have lost their last four international matches in a row. In each of those matches, they conceded at least two goals. The Central Asian team’s only victory in the calendar year 2026 came in a friendly against soccer minnow Gabon (3–1). Fabio Cannavaro’s system is seen as the primary problem, as it has so far completely failed to strike a balance between controlled defense and building their own attacks.

These problems were also partly attributable to the early goals conceded, which is why it’s quite possible that the focus during the few days of preparation has now been on this: first getting into the game and building the necessary mental strength by keeping a clean sheet for as long as possible, so that at least the simple individual mistakes in their own defense aren’t repeated.

DR Congo – Uzbekistan Head-to-Head Record

Head-to-Head: 0 – 0 – 0

Never before has an international match taken place between these two nations, which are now facing off for the very first time. Consequently, there are no “head-to-head” statistics available that could influence our prediction for DR Congo vs. Uzbekistan in any way.

DR Congo – Uzbekistan Prediction

According to the top World Cup bookmakers, the betting odds for DR Congo vs. Uzbekistan are leaning remarkably heavily in favor of the Africans, who, while very solid defensively and having conceded only two goals, have remained very lackluster offensively. The World Cup returnees have scored just a single goal and now must, moreover, step outside their comfort zone. If the Leopards simply put up a concrete defensive wall against the White Wolves as well, a lackluster 0-0 draw is practically a foregone conclusion—a result that would effectively end their very realistic chance of advancing to the Round of 16, had they won. DR Congo must therefore, first and foremost, overcome its offensive slump.

In principle, Sébastien Desabre’s team is certainly capable of doing so, as the Uzbek side’s defense hasn’t been particularly solid, having already conceded eight goals. That said, it’s certainly not to be expected that the Congolese will suddenly put on a goal-scoring spectacle, which is why under bets are definitely in high demand. However, in our estimation, the widest range of possibilities is covered by betting on the Double Chance 1X with a maximum of three goals scored in the match when DR Congo faces Uzbekistan.