Sebastien Desabre, the French head coach of the Democratic Republic of Congo national team, lauded the star player Mohamed Salah, who plies his trade with Liverpool in the English Premier League and leads the Egyptian national team.
Commenting on the upcoming clash between DR Congo and Egypt, scheduled Sunday, in the framework of the Round of 16 of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, Desabre stated during the pre-match press conference, “The match between Egypt and DR Congo is extremely challenging.”
He added, “The Egyptian team is a strong squad with exceptional players, led by Mohamed Salah, who is considered one of the best players in the world.”
Desabre continued, “We were hoping to face Salah, but he is absent from the match due to injury.
However, this does not mean the match will be easy. The Egyptian team has various options and outstanding players who have shown strong performances in his absence.”
The coach remarked, “We will work on exploiting defensive vulnerabilities that may appear in the Egyptian team, and we aim to achieve victory and reach the quarter-finals.”
“We are prepared to face the Egyptian team, which possesses a potent attack.
The group stage is over, and now we are entering another competition with different rules where there is no room for losers,” he added.
Desabre emphasized, “My players know what is expected of them, both individually and collectively, and they are ready for it.”
The DR Congo coach concluded, “Egypt has conceded 6 goals and played in three different ways.
We will work on exploiting their defensive gaps.”
The national team advanced to the Round of 16 in the Africa Cup of Nations after securing the second position in Group 2 with 3 points.
DR Congo also reached this stage, securing the runner-up spot in Group 6 with the same point tally.
Egypt is set to face DR Congo tomorrow, Sunday, in the Round of 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 at the Laurent Pokou Stadium in San Pedro.
The Africa Cup of Nations 2023 is taking place in Cote d’Ivoire from January 13 to February 11, 2024, with the participation of 24 national teams.
