Africa Cup of Nations: the Democratic Republic of Congo beats Guinea and flies to the semi-finals
DR Congo has sealed its place in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations after a convincing 3-1 win over Guinea in Abidjan. Fourth consecutive victory for Sebastien Desabre’s men over the National Elephants.
Having secured their first knockout win in the current Africa Cup of Nations format against rivals Equatorial Guinea in the round of 16, Kaba Diawara’s men knew another great performance was needed against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The opening stages were played at a frenetic pace and, after Yoane Wissa missed a brilliant early chance for Leopards, Guinea were awarded a controversial penalty following a challenge by Chancel Mbemba on Mohamed Bayo.
Fresh from scoring in the previous round, Bayo appeared on the spot and sent Lionel Mpasi into a tailspin, giving Guinea the lead.
Eager to make up for the mistake, Mbemba responded promptly just seven minutes later, with a shot from the back after an error from the Guinean defense following a corner from Arthur Masuaku.
As half-time approached, Desabre’s men pushed forward and DR Congo almost took the lead through Cedric Bakambu, who deflected Masuaku’s inviting pass just wide.
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Leopards continued to push in the opening stages of the second half and their pressure was rewarded shortly after the hour mark when a wild run from substitute Silas was stopped by a clumsy tackle from Julian Jeanvier in the penalty area.
Wissa took responsibility from the spot and fired into the bottom left corner, giving DR Congo a narrow lead going into the final 20 minutes.
Guinea tried to rediscover the same spirit that had inspired them to victory in their last match, but it was the Congolese who celebrated their third goal eight minutes from time, when Masuaku found the net with a sublime free kick which he ducked at the last moment to deceive Ibrahim Kone.
This moment of brilliance extinguished hopes of a Guinean comeback, allowing the Democratic Republic of Congo to finish on a high note and reach the semi-finals of the competition for the first time since 2015.