Egypt to face DR Congo in AFCON round of 16

Egypt are set to face Group F runner-ups DR Congo in the round of 16 of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Just like Egypt, DR Congo have qualified from group F as runner-ups despite not winning a single game, drawing all their three games against Zambia, Morocco, and Tanzania.

They needed just a draw against Tanzania on Wednesday to seal a spot among the top three teams in the group, but with Morocco beating Zambia in the other tie, the three points were enough for them to finish second behind the Atlas Lions.

The results also meant that hosts Ivory Coast have progressed to the round of 16 as one of the best four third-placed teams ahead of both Zambia and Ghana.

The Egypt-DR Congo clash will now take place on January 28 at the Laurent Pokou Stadium in San Pédro and the winner will face either Equatorial Guinea or Guinea in the quarter-finals.

This will mark the 13th clash between both Egypt and DR Congo across all competitions, including friendlies, with the latest meeting coming back in the 2019 AFCON, when the Pharaohs emerged victorious 2-0, thanks to goals from Ahmed Elmohamady and Mohamed Salah.

Both countries faced each other in three other encounters in the AFCONs, the first being the First Round of the 1970 edition which saw Ali Abougreisha scoring the winner in a 1-0 win for the Pharaohs.

In 1974, DR Congo, at the time known as Zaire, avenged their defeat with a 3-2 victory in the semi-finals, before going on to beat Zambia in the final at the Cairo International Stadium.

32 years later, in 2006, also at the Cairo International Stadium, Egypt thrashed DR Congo 4-1, with goals coming from Ahmed Hassan (brace), Hossam Hassan, and Emad Meteb to seal a spot in the semi-finals and go all the way to lift the title against Ivory Coast.

Overall, Egypt beat DR Congo in eight games, and drew three, with the 1974 defeat marking The Leopards’ only win against the Pharaohs throughout its history.