AFCON: Congo down 10-man Egypt, hit q’finals on penalties
DR Congo defeated record seven-time winners Egypt 8-7 in a penalty shootout on Sunday, sending the team out of the Africa Cup of Nations despite the absence of star player Mohamed Salah due to injury.
In San-Pedro, custodian Lionel Mpasi scored the winning penalty kick after Mohamed Abou Gabal, the other custodian, had seen his kick miss the mark and sail over.
Meschack Elia scored for the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 37 minutes, and Mostafa Mohamed equalised in first-half added time with a penalty kick, capping an intense last-16 match that ended 1-1 after extra time.
After suffering an injury during a group match against Ghana, Liverpool star Mohamed Salah went back to his team, who informed him that he would likely only be allowed to return to the competition if Egypt advanced to the final.
Next Friday in Abidjan, DR Congo will play Guinea, who defeated Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in the last minute earlier on Sunday, in hopes of advancing to the semi-finals.
Despite having won nine of the previous 33 Cup of Nations competitions between them, Egypt and the Democratic Republic of the Congo were unable to secure a single victory in the group stage this month in the Ivory Coast.
In mini-leagues, they had identical records of three draws and three points, finishing runners-up to Cape Verde and Morocco, respectively.
Where they diverged was in the number of goals scored; DR Congo managed just two, while Egypt scored six, three of which came from Mohamed, who is based in France.
This was the fifth AFCON match between the two nations since 1970, with the Pharaohs winning three and losing one.
– Controversial goal –
Notable injury absentees included DR Congo playmaker Gael Kakuta and Egyptian custodian Mohamed el Shenawy, who is recognised as the best in Africa.
Egypt controlled the majority of the possession in a cagey first half until DR Congo's controversial Elia goal gave them the lead.
DR Congo received a throw-in that Egypt argued was theirs, and Yoane Wissa crossed for Elia to nod into the net at the far post while the North Africans protested.
A minute into added time at the end of the first half, the Egyptian equaliser was also assisted by the off-field officials, according to a VAR review that verified the goal.
Dylan Batubinsika elbowed Egypt captain Ahmed Hegazy in the face, and the South African referee initially waved play on, but was later given a penalty after reviewing the incident on the monitor.
Mohamed sent Mpasi the wrong way as he hammered the spot-kick into the roof of the net to preserve his record of scoring a goal every game in the Ivory Coast.
Even half-chances for both sides remained rare as the second half went on, with DR Congo controlling more of the ball thanks to superior defences led by Chancel Mbemba and Hegazy.
The Congolese benched veteran forward Cedric Bakambu in favour of Simon Banza, who leads the Portuguese league with 14 goals this year, in an effort to strengthen their offensive.
DR Congo put relentless pressure on Egypt in extra time, but they were unable to score the winning goal with Mohamed Hamdy sent off, leaving Egypt down a man.
