Group K · Match 66
DR Congo vs Uzbekistan
7:30 PM EDT · Mercedes-Benz Stadium · Atlanta
DR Congo vs Uzbekistan kicks off at 7:30 PM EDT on June 27, 2026 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
In DR Congo that's 12:30 AM GMT+1. In Uzbekistan: 4:30 AM GMT+5.
DR Congo face Uzbekistan at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (71,000 capacity) in Atlanta on June 27, 2026, with kickoff at 7:30 PM EDT (UTC-4) in the Group K finale at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Both Group K matches kick off simultaneously. While DR Congo and Uzbekistan play in Atlanta, Colombia and Portugal play elsewhere. The result in Atlanta is only meaningful in combination with what happens in the other match. Both sets of players will know the exact score they need.
DR Congo’s path through Group K has run through Portugal and Colombia, two of the group’s most technically demanding opponents. What that record looks like by the final day determines everything about how they approach this match. The Leopards’ European-trained players, many in Belgian and French leagues, will have competed against Portugal and Colombia’s quality and carry whatever those results produced into Atlanta. For a nation of 100 million people whose football program spent decades in the margins of African competition, the Group K finale is not a bureaucratic conclusion. It is the most important football result in the country’s modern history.
Uzbekistan’s World Cup debut in 2026 follows years of investment in youth development infrastructure that makes them one of Central Asia’s most complete footballing nations. The White Wolves qualified through the AFC in a confederation that includes Japan, South Korea, and Australia, meaning this is not an easy route. Players from the Uzbek program compete in Russian, South Korean, and European leagues, a spread that reflects genuine ambition rather than regional insularity. Their tactical structure under their coaching staff has been built for exactly this: a high-stakes final group match where organisation and discipline can produce a result that defies expectations.
When is this match? 7:30 PM EDT in Atlanta means 8:30 AM JST the following morning in Tokyo and 12:30 AM BST in London. In Tashkent, fans watch at 4:30 AM local time. In Kinshasa, 1:30 AM. Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with its retractable roof closed against June heat, creates an interior atmosphere that rewards the louder support.
DR Congo have never been past a World Cup group stage since 1974. Uzbekistan have never played at a World Cup before 2026. One of those facts changes on June 27 in Atlanta. The other one stays.