Two Games, Two Wins. Job Done.
Colombia are through. A hard-fought, hard-won 1-0 victory over DR Congo at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara confirmed their place in the round of 32 with a game to spare. Two games played. Six points earned. Group K leaders. The mission is complete.
It was not easy. DR Congo made Colombia work for every inch of the pitch. Goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi delivered a performance that belonged in a different result, making eight saves against a Colombian attack that created chance after chance. Luis Diaz twice came close in the final minutes, only to be denied by offside and a foul in the build-up. Mpasi was the man standing between chaos and an equaliser that never came.
The decisive moment arrived in the 76th minute. Substitute Juan Quintero took over from James Rodriguez and immediately changed the game’s tempo, slipping a perfectly weighted through ball into the box for Daniel Munoz. The right-back met it first time and drove a low finish into the near post. Clinical. Crucial. Colombia class.
Munoz won Man of the Match. His energy, his defensive contributions, and that winning goal made him impossible to ignore. It is his second goal of this World Cup, following his opener against Uzbekistan in game one.
Lumumba Vea Finally in the Stands
The result carried footballing weight. But one of the evening’s most powerful images came from off the pitch.
Michel Nkuka Mboladinga, the Congolese superfan known worldwide as Lumumba Vea, finally made it to the World Cup. He missed DR Congo’s opener against Portugal due to quarantine requirements tied to an Ebola outbreak. He arrived in Guadalajara. He stood on a pedestal behind the DR Congo bench, motionless throughout the full 90 minutes, red jacket, yellow shirt, right arm raised. Still. Unshakeable. Exactly as always.
His gesture is not a performance for cameras. It is a tribute to Patrice Lumumba, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s first prime minister, assassinated in 1961 during the country’s post-independence struggle against Belgian-backed forces. Mboladinga’s pose mirrors a famous statue of Lumumba in Kinshasa, adopted deliberately to keep the memory of Congo’s independence icon alive at every match. He has stood this way, for the full duration of games, since 2013.
He went viral at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. He has become a symbol of Congolese identity on the global stage. Seeing him finally present at the World Cup, the tournament DR Congo qualified for after a 52-year absence, carried genuine emotional power. Colombia fans stopped to take photos with him before kick-off.
DR Congo still have a chance. A win against Uzbekistan in their final group game could carry them through as one of the best third-placed sides. Lumumba Vea will be there.
For full Group K standings and World Cup coverage, head to KCPredict. The full story of Lumumba Vea and his World Cup arrival is covered at ESPN.