Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes delivered a quieter performance than usual as Portugal were held to a draw by DR Congo in their opening match of the World Cup.

With Portugal widely tipped as one of the tournament favourites, confidence was high ahead of their clash with DR Congo in Houston.

The Selecao enjoyed an ideal start when Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Joao Neves opened the scoring with a header inside the first five minutes.

However, Newcastle United forward Yoane Wissa levelled the contest just before half-time with a superb headed goal of his own.

Both teams had opportunities to secure victory in the second half, but neither managed to find the winner, and the match ended with the points shared.

Fernandes, coming off a record-breaking campaign with Manchester United, featured in midfield alongside Neves and his PSG teammate Vitinha. It proved to be a subdued outing for the Portuguese captain, who found it difficult to impose himself on proceedings as he often does for his club.

His most notable moment arrived late in the game when he unleashed a shot that went narrowly wide of the target. Reflecting his limited influence, Fernandes failed to create a single chance during the entire 90 minutes, with his first opportunity only arriving in the 92nd minute.

During his time on the pitch, Fernandes attempted two shots.

He completed 67 of his 77 passes, recording an individual pass accuracy of 87%. Only one of those passes qualified as a key pass.

The 31-year-old successfully connected with five of his 11 long balls, made 96 touches, and drew two fouls.

Defensively, Fernandes put in a solid shift, winning five of eight ground duels and both aerial battles he contested. He also recovered possession twice from three tackles. Portugal will next face Uzbekistan on Tuesday.

(Statistics sourced from Sofascore)

The Portugal vs Uzbekistan fixture is scheduled to kick off at 9 pm.

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