AFCON: DR Congo stun Egypt in penalty shootout to reach quarterfinals; face Guinea for semifinals
Yet another upset was recorded at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after record-holder Egypt, with seven titles, were knocked out of the competition by DR Congo on penalties on Sunday.
DR Congo, ranked 67th in the world by FIFA, were widely deemed the underdogs coming into the round of 16, but on the turf of the Laurent Pokou in San Pedro they played in a manner that stunned one of the tournament’s favourites.
The Congolese showed they were capable of chewing the portion they had bitten off when the Leopards took the lead in the 37th minute courtesy of Meschack Elia’s header into the centre of the goal.
However, DR Congo’s lead did not last long as Mostafa Mohamed equalised for the Pharaoh of Egypt from the spot inside the first-half stoppage time following a foul on Ahmed Hegazy by Dylan Batubinsika.
They both failed in the second half, forcing the game into extra time, and Egypt went one man down only two minutes into the second half of the extra time after Mohamed Hamdi was shown a second yellow card.
Despite being down by a player, Salah, Egypt were able to force the round of 16 clash into a penalty shootout. However, Egypt’s goalkeeper Mohamed Gabal lost the North African last penalty in the shootout.
And that ultimately allowed Lionel Mpasi-Nzau to calmly slot into the net the last kick of the game, which pushed DR Congo to the quarter-finals at the expense of a formidable opponent.
DR Congo will face the National Elephants of Guinea, who salvaged a narrow 1-0 win over Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, for a place in the semifinals.
Angola, Nigeria, Guinea, and now DR Congo are the four teams that have so far secured a spot in the last eight of the tournament.
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