Afcon 2023: Democratic Republic of the Congo 3-1 Guinea – Leopards come from behind to advance to the last four

DR Congo came from behind to beat Guinea 3-1 and booked their place in the semi-finals of the 2023 African Cup of Nations.

In the second half, DR Congo earned their own penalty with Julien Janvier clipping the leg of Silas and Brentford forward Yoan Ouissa converting to give Leopards the lead with 25 minutes remaining.

The West African team could hardly fight back after falling behind, and the result was decided when Artur Masuaku's free kick from the left wing found Guinea goalkeeper Ibrahim Kone at his near post.

DR Congo had drawn all four of their previous matches in Ivory Coast. In the last 16, they defeated Egypt in a penalty shootout. They will now prepare for their first semi-final since the match against Central Africa. In 2015, he finished third.

Sebastien Desabre's side will face the winner of Saturday's quarter-final match between Mali and hosts Ivory Coast (17:00 CET) in Wednesday's last four.

A tale of two penalties

Guinea appealed for the penalty to be ruled out shortly after the start when the ball hit Mbemba's hand and bounced backwards, but Siri Nasional was awarded a soft spot-kick after Wissa poked the Democratic Republic of Congo's flank.

Bayo was under pressure from Mbemba when he tried to get on the edge of Ibrahim Diakite's cross and hit the grass, leading referee Mustafa Golbar to controversially rule that Mbemba's back shoulder had amounted to a foul. Ta.

Despite protests from the Congolese side, the video assistant referee was not involved and after a delay, Bayot slotted the ball into the center right corner to score his third goal of the final.

However, Mbemba made up for it when Masuaku's corner kick fell to the former Newcastle centre-back at the far post and he smashed a left-footed shot into the roof of the net.

Facine Conte was unable to connect with the ball properly after being put through and missed a golden chance to put Guinea ahead, but a minute later Janvier inadvertently converted a lively advance from Silas. It was stopped and a penalty was awarded to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Wissa stumbled on his run-up, but fired a shot into the bottom left corner. Guinea, who reached the last eight for the first time since 2015, struggled to find a response despite having Stuttgart striker Serhau Guirassy off the bench.

Masuaku put the result beyond doubt with eight minutes remaining when the former West Ham full-back's left-footed knuckleball tilted and went wide of Kone, who was expecting a cross.

Guirassi had a header on target in stoppage time, but Silas could have added a fourth goal with a shot from inside the area.