A golden opportunity to make history. Nine years after their last clash at this same stage of the competition, DR Congo and Ivory Coast face each other on Wednesday February 7 in the semi-final of CAN 2024.
The DR Congo, which is chasing its past glory, relies on impressive physical power, personified by Chancel Mbemba, and tactical discipline imposed by the architect of this team: Sébastien Desabre.
"We prepared well, we know it's going to be hard, but I think we're ready to have a good match. There's pressure. It's a CAN semi-final. But once Once on the pitch, we have to try to release this pressure and play our football,” explains Brian Beyeye, defender of the Leopards. “We are all united. That’s our great strength. We all want the same goal.”
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The Leopards are preparing for an open match against the host country, in a stadium which leaves them with good memories after their 3-1 victory against Guinea in the quarter-final. The opposite of Côte d'Ivoire, which was humiliated there by Equatorial Guinea during its last outing:
“It’s a ground we know. We had a good victory there and we’re not going to change our habits,” notes striker Simon Banza, “It’s going to be a big match because we are two big players. nations with a track record. So Côte d'Ivoire, they still made it here. Other teams were eliminated. We also made our way, so it's going to be a shock."
A thought for eastern DR Congo
Like the rest of their teammates who raised awareness on the subject, the two players had a thought for the victims of the ongoing violence in eastern DR Congo. In recent days, clashes in the territory of Masisi, west of Goma (provincial capital of North Kivu), have caused new displacements of populations and left several dozen injured transported to overwhelmed health centers. elsewhere emphasized by humanitarian sources.
“We fight for us, but also for them, for our families. And we give our all on the pitch to make our compatriots proud,” continues the Braga striker.
“It must transcend us, it must push us upwards because it is deplorable what is happening there. We are all affected by the events there. We want to give our best to be able to give even a little joy to these people who really deserve to be happy", adds Bryan Beyeye.
Comments collected by Cédric Ferreira and Natalia Ruiz
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