D.R. Congo Advances to Quarterfinals in Dramatic Penalty Shootout

D.R. Congo Advances to Quarterfinals in Dramatic Penalty Shootout

D.R. Congo has eliminated Egypt from the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023, securing victory with an 8-7 penalty shootout win in the round of 16.

The atmosphere at Stade Laurent Pokou was intense throughout the entire 120-minute game. Meschack Elia gave D.R. Congo the lead in the 37th minute with a header from the six-yard box, opening the scoring.

Responding to D.R. Congo’s lead in the first half, Egypt earned a penalty after VAR review. Mostafa Mohamed successfully converted it into the top right corner, beating goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi-Nzau.

Despite Egypt’s dominance in the second half, the seven-time champions couldn’t break down D.R. Congo’s resilient defense. The game extended to extra time, the first in the tournament in Côte d’Ivoire.

In extra time, Egypt was reduced to 10 men after Hamdi Mohamed received his second yellow card. Despite the numerical disadvantage, Egypt continued pressing and creating chances.

The match progressed to a shootout, where Egypt missed twice from the penalty spot, with Mostafa Mohamed and goalkeeper Gabaski both failing to convert. D.R. Congo won 8-7 on penalties, securing a spot in the quarter-finals.

This marks the second time Egypt has failed to advance from the Round of 16 in three previous attempts, while D.R. Congo progresses after being eliminated in their first knockout game in their two previous appearances (2019 and 2017).

Sebastien Desabre’s team will face Guinea in the quarter-finals.

REACTIONS

Sebastien Desabre, D.R. Congo coach:

“I’m very proud of my players. We had a strategy in place to contain this team, but we played too low in the first half. I changed it afterwards, and we played better. We suffered, but I think Egypt did too. My knowledge of Egyptian football probably helped us. They’re a good team, but we were better today. Mentally, I think we were very strong. Now we’ll try to recover well and then we’ll take it match after match, starting with Guinea, our next opponent.”

Rui Vitoria, Egypt coach:

“It wasn’t what we expected. We came up against a tough opponent. Each team has its strong and weak moments. We’re very sad. We worked hard to go far in the competition. Then there was the penalty shoot-out, and that wasn’t our day. In football, there are good times and bad times. Part of the responsibility is mine. We’re going to keep working with this team as long as I am here.”