Burnley man suffers narrow World Cup defeat with DR Congo

Axel Tuanzebe and DR Congo face a final group game showdown to secure qualification after suffering a narrow defeat to Colombia.

Crystal Palace’s Daniel Munoz scored the only goal of the game with a deflected strike as the South American outfit claimed a 1-0 win in Guadalajara, Mexico.

It was a fair result, with Colombia missing a host of chances and Munoz earlier having a goal disallowed.

A second straight win puts Colombia top of Group K and clinches their place in the last 32

Tuanzebe played the full 90 minutes for the second straight game, making nine defensive contributions and winning 50 per cent of his duels.

The centre-back, who played at the heart of a back five, is soon coming to the end of his contract at Burnley, but the Clarets recently announced they were in negotiations over extending his stay.

Following Congo’s 1-1 draw with Portugal in their opening group game, it leaves them third in the group on one point.

A win against Uzbekistan in their final game on Sunday (12.30am kick off time) should be enough to seal their progress through to the knockout stages as one of the best third-placed teams.

To finish in the top two, the Leopards would need to win by a big margin to overturn the goal difference to Portugal, who would need to lose to Colombia.

It’s Congo’s first appearance at a World Cup since 1974, when they were known as Zaire.