D.R. Congo emerged victorious over Egypt in the Round of 16 of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d'Ivoire 2023, securing their spot in the quarter-finals after an 8-7 penalty shootout win.
Stade Laurent Pokou witnessed an intense 120 minutes, with Meschack Elia giving D.R. Congo a 37th-minute lead by heading home from the six-yard box. Egypt responded with a penalty, successfully converted by Mostafa Mohamed, leveling the score.
Despite Egypt's second-half dominance, they couldn't breach the resilient D.R. Congo defense. The match extended into extra time, the first in the tournament in Côte d'Ivoire. Egypt's Hamdi Mohamed received a second yellow card, reducing them to 10 men, but they continued to press.
The game eventually went to a shootout, where Egypt faltered twice from the penalty spot, with Mostafa Mohamed and goalkeeper Gabaski missing their kicks. D.R. Congo, too, had Arthur Masuaku miss a penalty, but they secured an 8-7 victory, advancing to the quarter-finals.
This marks Egypt's second failure to progress from the Round of 16 in three attempts, while D.R. Congo, after being eliminated in their first knockout games in 2019 and 2017, now advance to face Guinea in the quarter-finals.
