Before this meeting, Sébastien Desabre, head coach-manager of the DRC, was modest before playing against the Syli national. "We expect an open game against a team that plays well with the ball. It isn't the AFCON of surprises, but one of hard work when you see the quality of the teams.
We are humble, we can still improve with wide margins for progress while being aware of our strengths. We're in a competition where you have to be hardworking, especially when you are two games away from a final," he declared. The French technician, who recognizes a strong Guinean team, promises a technical match with victory goals for the Leopards. "Guinea is a beautiful team, very well-organized in its game system.
Tomorrow, we will play a very offensive game aiming to score one more goal than the opponent. We will not have any particular problem tomorrow, no more than the opponent anyway, we have recuperated well," he continued. Furthermore, Sébastien Desabre acknowledges that there are no easy matches and that one has to adapt according to the games. "The game systems are not what you read in the newspapers.
They are perpetual movements, we don't defend and attack the same way all the time. There are no easy matches," he warned. However, Kaba Diawara, head coach of Guinea, when invited to respond to journalists' questions a few hours before the match, promises to bring the heat to the DRC. "We don't have a special plan. Mentally, we are ready to win against the DRC tomorrow. My guys are in the same mindset as the DRC and we will do everything to send the Congolese back home with a defeat," he promised. The kickoff of this quarter-final will be at 20:00 GMT, 21:00 Kinshasa time.
Guinea reached the quarters after eliminating Equatorial Guinea in the round of 16 (1-0) after the group phase. Guinea was picked as one of the best third-placed teams in group C, which included Senegal, Cameroon, and Gambia.
Joseph Bahati