2023 Africa Cup of Nations hosts Ivory Coast will look to continue their roller-coaster ride of a tournament when they face DR Congo in a semifinal clash at Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan on Wednesay night.
Kick-off is at 10pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)
CURRENT FORM
Ivory Coast continued to ride their luck in the tournament: after narrowly squeezing through the group stage and then overcoming Senegal on penalties, the Elephants defied being both a goal down and having two men sent off to defeat Mali 2-1 after extra time in an incredible quarterfinal this past Saturday evening.
Simon Adingra and Oumar Diakite scored the key goals for Ivory Coast as they recorded a victory which has the host nation believing that they are destined for glory.
DR Congo, after recording four successive draws in the tournament (three in Group F against Zambia, Morocco and Tanzania, and then, in the round of 16, a 1-1 stalemate after extra time with Egypt before edging through on penalties), finally clicked into their higher gears this past Friday evening when they came from a goal down to trump Guinea 3-1, thanks to goals from Chancel Mbemba, Yoane Wissa and Arthur Masuaku.
🇿🇦 🇳🇬 🇨🇮 🇨🇩
— CAF (@CAF_Online) February 4, 2024
Ladies and gentlemen, meet your #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 semi-finalists! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/eO24dUOJHG
TEAM NEWS
Ivory Coast will be without Odilon Kossounou and Oumar Diakite due to suspension, as both were sent off in the quarterfinal against Mali.
Wilfied Singo or Willy Boly are the likely replacements for the former in the starting XI, while the latter’s absence gives the Elephants fewer attacking options off the bench.
DR Congo have no reported injury or suspension worries and are likely to select the same XI that did duty against Guinea in the previous round.
WHAT WAS SAID
“We need to revise how we start our games, we have to master the game from the beginning and not to be obliged to have a lot of pressure,” said Ivory Coast caretaker coach Emerse Fae, who added: “We were not far from being eliminated [against Mali], the players didn’t give up, they fought into the end.”
“Now it's possible to go to the final,” said DR Congo coach Sebastien Desabre. “I think we had the victory we deserved. We met a great Guinean team who gave us tactical problems. It wasn't easy, but the most important thing is to continue on the road.”
Ahead of their #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 semi-final against tournament hosts - Cote d’Ivoire, DR Congo’s head coach Sebastien Desabre is dreaming of glory.
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) February 5, 2024
Here’s what he had to say 👇
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Ivory Coast: Seko Fofana remains the key player for Ivory Coast and he put in a performance of both great technical quality and selfless endeavour to help his team shrug off the disadvantage of playing most of the 120 minutes against Mali a man down.
Also keep an eye out for Sebastien Haller, who is gaining in form and fitness, and the aggressive Simon Adingra.
DR Congo: Aside from his outstanding goal against Guinea in the quarterfinals, Arthur Masuaku is a highly influential figure from his position as left-back, providing a fine range of passing and crosses.
Yoane Wissa is also a selfless and technically astute attacker, while Chancel Mbemba’s experience, versatility and goal threat from set pieces marks him out as a foundational member of the team.
HEAD-TO-HEAD AND MATCH FACTS
Côte d'Ivoire have faced DR Congo five times previously at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations (W2 D2 L1), with this their first encounter since a 2-2 draw in the 2017 group stages.
In the knockout phase, the only previous meeting between Côte d'Ivoire and DR Congo was at the semi-final stage in 2015; the Elephants won 3-1 and went on to win the trophy that year.
This is Côte d'Ivoire’s 10th appearance in the CAF Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals, becoming the fifth nation to play in as many as 10 semi-finals, along with Nigeria (15, inc. this year), Egypt (13), Ghana (12) and Cameroon (10). It’s their first since 2015 when they beat this year’s opponents DR Congo 3-1 under Herve Renard.
DR Congo have reached their sixth CAF Africa Cup of Nations semi-final – they have won the previous two against the hosts (v Ethiopia in 1968 and Egypt in 1974) but have never won a semi-final match when not playing that year’s hosts, losing all three (1972, 1998 and 2015).
On the last three occasions the CAF Africa Cup of Nations host nation has reached the semi-final, they have been eliminated without scoring a goal: Ghana in 2008 (lost 1-0 to Cameroon), Equatorial Guinea in 2015 (lost 3-0 to Ghana) and Cameroon in 2021 (drew 0-0 with Egypt and lost 3-1 on pens). The last host to reach the final was Egypt in 2006.
Côte d'Ivoire reached the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations semi-final thanks to a 2-1 win over Mali, which saw them score in the 90th and 120thminutes to win. They were only the second team to score in the 90th and 120th minutes in the same AFCON match, along with Morocco vs Algeria in 2004.
Should DR Congo reach the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations final, it would be their first final since 1974. This would represent the biggest gap between a nation reaching AFCON finals, with Tunisia currently having the longest wait between 1965 and 1996.
Côte d'Ivoire could become the first nation to reach the final of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations despite suffering a four-goal defeat earlier in the tournament (lost 4-0 to Equatorial Guinea) since Nigeria in 1990, who lost 5-1 to Algeria in the group stages before facing them again in the final that year, losing 1-0.
20-year-old Oumar Diakité scored Côte d'Ivoire’s 120th minute winner against Mali in the 2023 AFCON quarter-final, becoming the Elephants’ youngest AFCON scorer since Tchiressoua Guel in 1994 (18 years, 31 days) and only the second player in the last 11 editions under the age of 21 to score a winning goal in the knockout stages, along with Dango Ouattara for Burkina Faso vs Tunisia in 2022 (quarter-final).
Only Angola’s Fredy (11) has created more chances at the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations than DR Congo’s Arthur Masuaku (10), with Masuaku playing more passes into the opposition box than any other player (53). Despite this, he is yet to register an assist.
Yoane Wissa has scored two of DR Congo’s five goals at this year’s CAF Africa Cup of Nations, scoring against Zambia and Guinea. Only four players have ever netted in three separate games at a single AFCON for the Leopards: Mayanga Maku in 1972 (3), Ndaye Mulamba in 1974 (5), Jerry Tondelua in 1998 (3) and Junior Kabananga in 2017 (3).