Key events
Half-time: Algeria 0-0 DR Congo
Algeria win a corner … but the referee blows his whistle because the time is up, much to the disbelief of those in white shirts. The first 45 minutes end goalless in Rabat.
45 min: Just the one minute of added time after a cagey first half with a handful of chances.
43 min: Great strike! Algeria break and Maza’s low whistling shot goes just wide at the far post. Huge chance for the Bayer Leverkusen striker and on his weaker foot too!
39 min: DR Congo win a corner; the ball comes in and Zidane leaps and easily catches it. Or at least, he makes it look easy.
37 min: DR Congo finally get some good possession going and the boos and whistles ring out. No, we are not in Algiers but this Afcon has surprisingly seen a lot of north African solidarity. Moroccans will cheer for the Algerians … until they have to face them.
35 min: Tensions flaring a bit. Two fouls for both teams but the referee only stops play when the Algerian player goes down. Blue shirts surround the referee but no cards come out.
Peter Oh emails in: “Algeria may have the son of a legendary France No 10 in goal, but Congo have got a Lionel M between their sticks!”
30 min: Belghali again with a good low cross but it is cleared. Algeria are using the flanks well and have had 75% possession but DR Congo are doing what they can to keep the ball away as soon as it gets into the box.
26 min: Huge chance! Tuanzebe rises above everyone in the box and heads it goalward but the ball just lacks a final cure and it whips wide.
24 min: Aït-Nouri with a great drop of the shoulder in the box before the ball is cleared and then DR Congo are on the attack. Bakambu has support but he speeds forward and takes an angled shot from the right. Zidane gets a touch on it and it goes out for a corner.
21 min: How have Algeria not scored? The ball pings around the box before Mahrez controls it with a header. Belghali then turns and crosses it in but Mbema guides it out for a corner.
Mahrez’s corner lacks height and DR Congo clear easily.
20 min: Another Algeria free-kick and this time Chaibi takes it. A much better ball in and Moutoussamy with a crucial header away.
17 min: Mahrez takes the free-kick low and Mandi flicks it wide. Bensebaini yells in frustration. The Borussia Dortmund defender is 6ft 2in and you could see he was preparing for a cross that had more height on it.
16 min: Algeria win a corner outside the box on the right. Mahrez and Chaibi standing over it …
14 min: Mandi is now down … this has been very stop start so far. Replay shows Bakambu tripped over the forward when he was on the ground and accidentaly kneed his head. Play continues.
10 min: Algeria win their first corner … Bensebaini takes but it barely clears the first man. Amoura is now down and the replay shows his football boot came clean off during that corner. No foul, which is the right decision I think, and play continues with a DR Congo free-kick.
9 min: Chancel Mbemba is down receiving treatment. Would be a huge miss for DR Congo for their captain to be injured early but he seems to be OK.
7 min: For once, Mahrez’s touch lets him down! A great ball comes in over the top but the winger is almost through on goal but the ball bounces awkwardly off his foot.
4 min: An early free-kick for Algeria near their own box. The referee gives Bakambu a talking to for a shovw, and then kicking the ball away. He is claiming that he didn’t hear the whistle. No card but Adam emails in to say: “I think this will be a very physical game, lots of yellow cards and possibly reds for both teams. Hopefully the ref can control the game!”
1 min: DR Congo lost only match in 2025, a World Cup qualifier against Guinea. Algeria’s streak goes back even longer, Vladimir Petkovic losing his first game in charge back in 2024 against Guinea.
Kick-off: Algeria 0-0 DR Congo
The referee blows the whistle and we are off. Two teams who went unbeaten in the group stages … that streak ends today!
Algeria in their white kits with green trim and DR Congo in all blue.
The teams are out, the national anthems are being sung and we are getting close to kick-off. The camera pans to Zinedine Zidane, whose son Luca is between the sticks for Algeria.
There are not as many DR Congo fans in Morocco but they are making their voice heard in Rabat. We see the fan who has gained social media virality for standing for all of DR Congo’s matches. He resembles the country’s first prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, who led the country in 1960.
Yesterday’s ties saw Nigeria book their spot in the last-eight after their 4-0 rout of Mozambique.
There was tension on the pitch after Victor Osimhen confronted Ademola Lookman for not passing him the ball in the 63rd minute. The Galatasaray striker was on a hat-trick. The pair had to be separated by Mozambique players and Osimhen was booed off the pitch after his substitution. He went straight down the tunnel after the full-time whistle. Lookman downplayed the situation during his post-match media duties, saying: “There are no issues between me and Victor. It’s just football. He is my brother.”
The Super Eagles will play the winner of Algeria v DR Congo in their quarter-final on 10 January.
Egypt needed extra-time to get over the line in their 3-1 win over Benin. Marwan Attia’s fine finish from the edge of the box in the 69th minute but, against the run of play, Benin clawed one back after Junior Olaitan’s deflected cross wrong-footed Mohamed El Shenawy, who could barely push the ball off his line. The rebound found an alert Jodel Dossou who hammered home the loose ball.
Yasser Ibrahim’s looping header was the winner early on in extra-time before Mohamed Salah sped away in the final minute to seal the win with an outside of the boot curling finish. The seven-time champions await the winner of Côte d’Ivoire v Burkina Faso.
Team news
Algeria XI (4-2-3-1): Zidane; Belghali, Mandi, Bensebaini, Ait-Nouri; Boudaoui, Bennacer; Mahrez, Chaibi, Amoura; Maza.
Subs: Mandrea, Benbot, Dorval, Belaid, Atal, Zerrouki, Abdelli, Zorgane, Hadj Moussa, Kebbal, Bounedjah, Bakrar, Boulbina, Berkane.
DR Congo XI (4-3-3): Mpasi; Wan-Bissaka, Mbemba, Tuanzebe, J Kayembe; Sadiki, Moutoussamy, Mukau; Elia, Bakambu, Bongonda.
Subs: Fayulu, Epolo, Kapuadi, Batubinsika, Bushiri, Kalulu, Pickel, E Kayembe, Kakuta, Mbuku, Essende, Mayele, Cipenga, Banza, Balikwisha.
Referee: Mohamed Eid Mansour (Egypt)
Preamble
Hello and welcome to one of the final matches of the 2025 Afcon last-16: Algeria v DR Congo. The north African side will be keen to follow up on their strong group stage showing, where they finished top with three wins.
DR Congo will not be an easy task though; Sébastien Desabre’s side came second in their group, only behind Senegal on goal difference.
Both teams have each won two Afcon trophies – Algeria in 1990 and 2019, DR Congo in 1968 and 1974 – but only one will be contesting for a third after today.
As always, feel free to get in touch via email if you have any thoughts, predictions, questions or musings. Kick-off is at 4pm GMT in Rabat. Team news coming up …
