Axel Tuanzebe Shines in Congo's Draw Against Portugal
Axel Tuanzebe walked off the pitch in Houston with a smile that had been missing for months – and with Cristiano Ronaldo in his back pocket.
The Burnley centre-back, fresh from a relegation season in the Premier League, had just helped Congo deliver one of the early jolts of this World Cup: a dogged, disciplined draw against Portugal in their first appearance at the tournament since 1974. On the other side of that result stood his former Manchester United team-mate, mentor and global icon, reduced to a frustrated figurehead.
Respect? Plenty. Mercy? None.
Tuanzebe shuts the door on his old mentor
Tuanzebe knows Ronaldo as well as most defenders of his generation. At Carrington he was the young defender asking questions, watching the veteran forward up close, absorbing every detail of a career built on obsession and goals.
In Houston, that history counted for nothing.
At the heart of a superbly drilled back line, Tuanzebe helped suffocate Portugal’s supply lines and starve Ronaldo of the chances he craves. The 41-year-old, chasing the “magic number” of 1,000 career goals, found himself snatching at moments rather than dictating them, his every movement shadowed and smothered.
“Cristiano is still hungry, he still wants to play, he still wants to show everybody how good he is,” Tuanzebe said afterwards. “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. For Tuanzebe, who has just lived through the grind and gloom of relegation with Burnley, this was something else entirely – a reminder of why defenders suffer the hard yards in the first place.
“It's definitely a positive for me personally,” he said. “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.”
Congo show no fear
If Tuanzebe chose the respectful line, one of his team-mates was less inclined to tiptoe around Ronaldo’s status.
Ngaleyel Mukau, part of the same Congo side that refused to be overawed by the names on Portugal’s teamsheet, admitted they didn’t even bother tailoring a plan specifically for the former Real Madrid and United star.
“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.”
It was blunt, but the evidence on the pitch backed it up. Congo defended with conviction, closed space, and treated Ronaldo as just another forward to be contained rather than a force of nature to be feared. The aura that once bent games in his favour never quite materialised.
Ronaldo left to stew
Ronaldo’s reaction was measured, but there was no hiding the disappointment. This was not the opening act he had scripted for what could be his final World Cup.
“What was missing? Nothing was missing, that's football,” he said while signing autographs after the game. “Portugal could have won, but it could also have lost. It could have gone either way.”
On social media, his message was defiant rather than despondent: “It wasn't the start we wanted, but this is far from over. Heads up and focus on the next game.”
The questions will still swirl. At 41, every misfire, every quiet night, feeds the argument that time has finally caught up with him. Congo’s rugged resistance did nothing to ease that narrative.
A World Cup rebirth for Tuanzebe and Congo
For Tuanzebe, though, this was a night of repair and renewal. The scars of a relegation campaign do not disappear quickly, but performances like this help.
This result has done more than restore some personal pride. It has cracked Group dynamics wide open and given Congo a real shot at the knockout stages in their first World Cup appearance in half a century.
“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 roughing up an old mentor. No apologies for denting a legend’s World Cup. Tuanzebe has his smile back, Congo have their belief, and Ronaldo – for once – is the one left chasing.
