After a Turbulent Year, Why Yoane Wissa Could Be England’s Biggest Problem Against DR Congo

The past 12 months have not gone according to plan for Yoane Wissa. A £55 million transfer that turned acrimonious before it was even completed. A serious knee injury suffered on international duty before he had attended a single training session at his new club. A second half of the season in which he started one of Newcastle United’s last 22 games in all competitions. A last club goal that came on 21 January in a 3-0 win over PSV.

And now, World Cup 2026. Three goals in the group stage. A nation’s hero. England next.

The 29-year-old is set to lead the line for the Democratic Republic of Congo in Atlanta today, in what represents the biggest game of his career and only the second time his country has ever appeared at a World Cup. The first was in 1974, when they competed under the name Zaire and lost all three of their group matches. Wissa has already made this campaign feel entirely different in character — and if DR Congo are going to produce the kind of upset that Paraguay delivered against Germany in the last round, he will be at the centre of it.

A Footballer Shaped by Difficulty

Before the transfer sagas and the knee injury, there was something far more serious. In July 2021, Wissa was the victim of an acid attack. He required emergency eye surgery. He made a full recovery, signed for Brentford from French side Lorient in the same summer, and went on to become one of the most popular players the west London club has had in the Premier League era.

That resilience has defined his career. It is worth keeping in mind when assessing what he has overcome to arrive at this point.

His early years at Brentford were productive without being spectacular. He started only 28 of a possible 76 top-flight games in his first two seasons, operating largely as a rotating option rather than a guaranteed starter. Then, in May 2023, Ivan Toney received an eight-month ban for admitting to 232 breaches of the FA’s betting rules. Wissa stepped into the starting role, thrived, and delivered the best football of his career.

Wissa’s Brentford Career Summary

The irony of his situation at World Cup 2026 is not lost. On the England bench will be Ivan Toney — the same player whose absence at Brentford gave Wissa his opportunity, and whose departure to Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2024 set in motion the chain of events that made Wissa’s exit so complicated.

The Transfer That Nearly Did Not Happen

Wissa had expressed a desire to leave Brentford in the summer of 2024. The club, however, had already sold Toney to Al-Ahli and were not willing to lose two senior strikers in the same window. Wissa stayed, produced the best season of his career, and arrived at the following summer with his reputation enhanced and his desire to move undiminished.

The 2025 summer window was supposed to be straightforward. It was not.

Brentford’s position had shifted. With Bryan Mbeumo departing for Manchester United, the club communicated that they would not sell Wissa unless a suitable replacement could be found. Wissa, who had already felt aggrieved at being denied his move the previous year, withdrew from Brentford’s pre-season tour to Portugal after a couple of days. He was left out of the first three games of the season.

Newcastle had been pursuing strikers all window. They had considered or attempted to sign Liam Delap, João Pedro, Hugo Ekitike, Jørgen Strand Larsen and Benjamin Šeško. Alexander Isak’s departure to Liverpool had left them urgently needing a forward, and Wissa had become their primary target — though he was seen as a replacement for Callum Wilson rather than a like-for-like Isak successor.

Wissa had also spoken to Thomas Frank, his former Brentford manager who had taken over at Tottenham. Frank indicated he would only push to sign him if Richarlison or Dominic Solanke left. After Solanke suffered an ankle injury that eventually ruled him out for five months, Spurs moved for Randal Kolo Muani on loan from Paris Saint-Germain on the same day Wissa finally completed his move to Newcastle.

The departure became deeply acrimonious.

Brentford, without a replacement secured, told Newcastle that it would take a significant offer to sell. Wissa released a public statement claiming that club figures had confirmed in conversations — and in writing — that they would not stand in his way if a reasonable offer was received. Multiple sources at Brentford denied any such agreement, verbal or written, had been made.

Newcastle ultimately submitted a bid of £55 million, more than double their original offer of £25 million. Brentford accepted. Even then, the move nearly collapsed because paperwork had not been signed and the deadline was closing in.

Wissa’s Transfer Timeline — Summer 2025

He had not yet trained with Newcastle.

The Injury That Took Everything Away

Within days of completing his move to St James’ Park, Wissa was representing DR Congo in a World Cup qualifier against Senegal. He suffered a serious knee injury. Three months on the sidelines followed. He did not make his Newcastle debut until December — a 2-1 victory over Burnley.

The timing meant he missed DR Congo’s dramatic CAF World Cup play-off victories over Cameroon and Nigeria in November, games that secured his nation’s place at World Cup 2026. He also made the decision to skip the Africa Cup of Nations, held in Morocco between December and January, to focus on his fitness and establish himself at Newcastle.

In an interview in April, Wissa reflected honestly on his return. “I didn’t wait the proper time,” he said. “It should definitely have been a long rehabilitation time.”

Wissa at Newcastle — 2024-25 Season

Even after returning from injury, his role at Newcastle diminished. Eddie Howe preferred Anthony Gordon — a natural left winger — or 22-year-old Will Osula as the central striker. Reports in April indicated Newcastle were likely to explore selling Wissa in the summer. Market conditions following his World Cup performances may now complicate that decision.

DR Congo’s Hero

The contrast between Wissa’s Newcastle season and his World Cup 2026 campaign could hardly be more stark.

He has scored three times in the group stage — as many as he managed in 28 appearances for Newcastle across the entire league season. His contributions have been decisive rather than incidental.

Wissa’s World Cup 2026 Group Stage Goals

The goal against Portugal — an equaliser in a 1-1 draw — announced DR Congo’s presence at the tournament. The game against Uzbekistan was more fraught. DR Congo needed a win to progress. When they were drawing and time was running out, Wissa earned and converted a penalty. Then, deep into stoppage time, he struck from long range to complete the victory.

After the final whistle, he spoke with a weight and sincerity that went well beyond football.

“It’s not easy in our country,” he told reporters. “There’s a war in East Congo. Every day, every time we wear this shirt, we think about them. That’s why tonight, what we show is just to say that guys, no matter what, we need to keep going. Because we want peace and for them, I just say ‘thank you’. Thank you because we came from far. We came from nothing to be here. Now we write our story with a black pen and we need to be proud.”

What England Face

DR Congo’s coach Sebastien Desabre has not tried to obscure where his side stand relative to England. “It’s true we are the challengers, the underdogs but that’s normal,” he said on Tuesday. “Each time we’ve managed to clear the obstacles.”

Wissa is central to their ability to do so. He effectively plays as a nine-and-a-half — intelligent enough to drop into space and bring others into play, dangerous enough to stretch defences with runs in behind. He can score with his right foot, his left and his head. He can finish from distance, as the Uzbekistan winner proved. He can convert under pressure from the spot.

For Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa and John Stones, containing him will require collective discipline and concentration for the full 90 minutes. Paraguay’s victory over Germany is a recent reminder of what happens when a supposedly superior side underestimates the threat in front of them.

DR Congo also showed in the group stage that they can defend deep and absorb pressure — their 1-1 draw with Portugal demonstrated low-block organisation that frustrated one of the tournament’s fancied sides.

Desabre’s assessment of Wissa’s current condition removes any ambiguity about the threat England face. “He is getting back to best level,” the coach said on the eve of the match. “What he brings on the training ground, his energy, his ability to move, yes he’s back at his highest level. He’s been very significant to us.”

Wissa himself framed it simply: “I didn’t show my best face at Newcastle but I knew that my time will come and this time is now. I know how to play football and especially when I’m good physically my head is calm, and the rest follows.”

There is a version of today’s match in which Wissa’s World Cup ends in Atlanta and he returns to a Newcastle summer of uncertainty, with reports of a potential sale and another chapter of upheaval to navigate.

There is another version in which he produces a performance that resets the entire conversation about what he is capable of — not just for DR Congo’s progress in the tournament, but for his own future.

England will be the stronger side on paper. They have Kane. They have Bellingham. They finished top of their group. But they have also shown defensive vulnerabilities and an over-reliance on set-pieces in open play. Wissa’s intelligence, movement and finishing ability make him exactly the kind of forward who can exploit the gaps England have been leaving behind their defensive line.

Paraguay’s result against Germany suggests the tournament is not done with its surprises. Wissa has lived through enough difficulty in the past year to understand that nothing is guaranteed — and equally, that things can change very quickly.

He has one more obstacle to clear in Atlanta. England stand in his way.

Read More: Why England Feel Ready if the World Cup Comes Down to Penalties
Also Read: Why Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham Remain England’s Most Important Partnership

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