Egypt, the 5-time AFCON Champions, had a challenging start to the competition with only 3 points from their group games. However, they are unbeaten for the last eight matches, showcasing their resilience and determination. A spot in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals will be at stake when Egypt and D.R. Congo take on each other on Sunday. Egypt’s wealth of experience in this prestigious tournament could prove to be a pivotal factor in determining their success going forward.

The Leopards, on the other hand, shared the spoils with the likes of Zambia, Morocco, and Tanzania in Group F to set up a meeting with Egypt. However, considering their status as a group wildcard, it’s safe to say that they have exceeded expectations. This will be an exiting clash as both teams will give their all to go into the next knockout stage.


Kick-Off:
Sunday, 28th Jan, 2024, 08:00 PM (GMT), 03:00 PM (EST)

Monday, 29-01-24, 01:30 AM (IST)

Stadium: Stade de San Pedro

Form
Egypt Form (All Competitions): D-D-D-W-W

DR Congo Form (All Competitions): D-D-D-L-D

Players to Watch
Omar Marmoush (Egypt)
Omar Marmoush has a compact and agile body frame, with a low centre of gravity allowing him to drive through tight spaces, short bursts and dynamic movements. He has an evenly distributed muscle mass with strong legs that help his explosiveness and strikes. He is a right-footed striker who lifts the attacking threat of his team with the variety of actions he applies across opponent defences.

His 2-way threat makes him a valuable asset as he’s adept at scoring in a variety of ways in the box and also driving through defences from his bomb runs into spaces to attack. This ability combined with his athleticism and usage across the pitch makes him even more dangerous.

Yoane Wissa (DR Congo)
The most impressive attribute of Wissa is his physicality. He’s all-around balanced. He’s very quick, quite strong, energetic, and tireless. His impressive physicality is perhaps also the reason why he’s such a versatile player who’s able to play in many positions across the pitch. That is of course, along with his tactical flexibility and intelligence. Wissa is fairly agile. He can stop and start moving as well as change directions with or without the ball quite quickly and he rarely goes down easily when getting body-charged.

Match Facts
Egypt haven’t lost in their last 8 games.
Egypt have scored at least one goal for 17 consecutive matches.
DR Congo finished their group stage with three draws.
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Injury and Team News
Goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy is ruled out from the tournament by a dislocated shoulder. Their star player Mohamed Salah is also out from the tournament due to a hamstring injury. Emam Ashour is also set to miss Egypt’s clash with DR Congo in the round of 16 of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations after suffering a concussion.

DR Congo has no injury concerns, and all players will be available for the match.

Head-to-Head
Matches: 8

Egypt: 6

DR Congo: 0

Draws: 2

Predicted Lineup for Egypt vs DR Congo
Egypt Predicted Lineup (4-3-3):
Al Shenawy(GK); Hany, Hegazy, Abdelmonem, Fotouh; Fathi, Attia, Elneny; Zizo, Mohamed, Marmoush

DR Congo Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1):
Mpasi(GK); Kalulu, Mbemba, Batubinsika, Masuaku; Pickel, Moutoussamy; Silas, Kakuta, Kalala; Wissa


Match Prediction for Egypt vs DR Congo
As both teams prepare for this daunting task ahead, one thing is certain – it’s going to be an intense battle between two sides vying for a spot in the next round of the AFCON tournament. But it’s hard not to notice the talent and experience Egypt carries in this competition. Egypt will come to the next round.

Prediction: Egypt 1-0 DR Congo

Egypt.

Rob