AFCON quarter-finals: DR Congo vs Guinea preview
Two tournament dark horses go head-to-head in one of the stand-out Quarter Final matches of AFCON 23.
The match takes place at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ebimpé at 20:00 GMT.
There was drama for both teams last time out as DR Congo edged past record winners Egypt on penalties in the round of 16.
AFCON’s latest ever winning goal ensured Guinea’s progression to the Quarter Final at the expense of the over-performing Equatorial Guinea.
Image credit: Ben Sutherland
DR Congo have drawn all of their games in the tournament so far but still find themselves in the quarterfinals.
After finishing second in their group with Morocco, Zambia and Tanzania, in the Round of 16, they knocked out Egypt after a nerve-wracking penalty shootout.
Goalkeeper Lionel M’Pasi scored the winning penalty to knock out a strong Egypt side (albeit a Mo Salah-less Egypt side).
The underlying data shows that only Nigeria have created more xG (7.5) than the DR Congo (6.6) whereas Guinea have only created 3.5 xG so far, the lowest of any team still left in the tournament.
DR Congo have struggled to convert the chances they have made though, underperforming their xG by 3.6, the most of any team in the tournament.
Yoanne Wissa and Cedric Bakambu have struggled to provide the finishing touch, being outshone by Meshack Elia.
Elia has been directly involved in three of their last four goals scored by The Leopards in the AFCON.
However, the ‘National Elephants’ have only conceded an astonishing four shots on target so far, so their rock-solid defence could see them progress over DR Congo.
Gael Kakuta missed the match against Egypt for DR Congo, and is expected to return for Friday’s fixture which should boost their attacking potential.
Guinea have won two of their last four matches at AFCON 2023, which is as many victories as in their previous 13 games in the competition.
Mohamed Bayo has scored two out of three of Guinea’s goals in the tournament so far and he could become the first Guinean to score three goals in a single AFCON since Pascal Feinduono in 2006.
Either way, this game will ensure that one of AFCON’s dark horses will be in a semi-final.
