Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Florent Ibenge
Amahoro Stadium In Kigali will host the battle of the titans when DR Congo clash with Mali in the decider to determine the winner of the 2016 African Nations Championship.
DR Congo had a roller coaster ride In the tournaments second round before stopping hosts Rwanda 2-1 in the quarter-final before dispatching battle hardened Guinea 5-4 on post match penalties on their road to the final under coach Florent Ibenge.
DR Congo [ celebrating below ] have been in superb form under the leadership of skipper Joel Kimwaki who has been instrumental In letting his experience lead the young players. They are praying it will help when they face Mali who have some of the youngest but most talented players in the tournament.Florent Ibenge’s side are looking to claim their second CHAN title, having won the first edition of the tournament in Ivory Coast in 2009.
On the other hand Mali have achieved their best performance at a CHAN tournament, easily eclipsing their quarterfinal showing at the previous edition in South Africa with virtuoso performances that have mesmerised both friends and foes.
Coach Florent Ibenge gave his players the thumbs up but warned Mali would not be a walk in the park “We have a tough battle against Mali and it will not be an easy game but our main hope is to try and replicate our 2009 win, That is our sole mission against Mali”Ibenge told supersport.com
The Eagles [below] under coach Drame have dispatched all their opponents in breathtaking fashion securing a place in the final by beating Ivory Coast on Thursday, with Yves Bissouma scoring the only goal of the game on 88 minutes to see off the challenge of the Elephants.
On Thursday Eagles coach Drame was buoyant his team had the capacity to get a win though he warned of complacency. “We did not qualify for the final by fluke and we put in all our effort. Now and as we reach the last hurdle we are optimistic that we will continue from where we left off in what is a do or die match against DR Congo who have been exceptional in the tournament.However we will give them a run for their money at the final” Drame told supersport.com .
DRC come into the game with one key player missing and another doubtful due to injury. Defender Padou Bompuga is suspended for an accumulation of yellow cards, while Heritier Luvumbu missed the semi due to injury and his availability remains uncertain.
“We will definitely miss Bompuga, as he played very well and was influential, but again we have 23 players in camp and we will pick a good replacement,” said Ibenge. “We are 50-50 and not very sure if Luvumbu will play, but all that will be decided according to our training programme and if the doctors give him a clean bill of health.”
DRC and Mali have met five times with Mali winning 3 times, both claiming 1 draw and the DRC winning once. The teams’ most recent meeting was in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations – they played to a 1-1 draw in a group stage clash in Durban.