Shearer's AFCON stance and the text that shaped Wissa's path to facing England at World Cup 2026

Yoane Wissa will line up against England for DR Congo in the World Cup 2026 round of 32, a fixture that carries an unexpected subplot: the BBC’s co-commentator for the match is Alan Shearer, the Newcastle United legend whose iconic No. 9 shirt Wissa inherited when he joined the club.

Wissa made a £55 million move from Brentford to St James’ Park in September 2025, but his arrival was immediately overshadowed by a serious knee injury sustained in a World Cup qualifier. Having barely featured for Newcastle, he was nonetheless a key figure in DR Congo’s plans for the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. The question of whether he should travel divided opinion — and Shearer was among those who felt Wissa should stay.

“It will be a really difficult decision for Wissa not to go to AFCON because you always want to represent your country,” Shearer told Betfair at the time. “But what I would say is, because of him not training or playing during the summer, he could’ve shown more responsibility in not playing as much as he did in those two games when he went away on international duty and hadn’t played at all. It’ll be a tough ask, but I understand that there’ll be a lot of people thinking that he’s never played for Newcastle and he needs to show some loyalty towards us.”

Newcastle held significant leverage in those negotiations, with FIFA compensating the club for the injury Wissa sustained on international duty. The Congolese Football Association ultimately left him out of the AFCON squad as a pragmatic compromise. Wissa made his Newcastle debut on 6 December in a 2-1 win over Burnley.

Despite the public disagreement, there is reported to be no ill feeling between Wissa and Shearer. Shortly after scoring his first goal for the club, Wissa revealed details of a text exchange with the former England captain — though the source material was truncated before the full content of that exchange was disclosed.

On the pitch in North America, Wissa has hit the ground running, scoring three goals to help DR Congo advance from Group K. It is only the central African nation’s second-ever World Cup appearance and their first time reaching the knockout stages.

England, meanwhile, have never previously faced DR Congo and enter the tie with limited knowledge of their opponents. Shearer, who scored 206 Premier League goals for Newcastle and remains the competition’s all-time leading scorer, will be providing BBC commentary — adding another layer to an already layered occasion for the striker wearing his old number.