Algeria gears up to face DRC in AFCON round of 16

AFCON

As Algeria gears up for a high-stakes Round of 16 encounter against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday, the team’s captain says he is taking a disciplined approach.

Riyad Mahrez acknowledged the skill of DR Congo, referring to them as a dangerous opponent that requires Algeria to “step up” to clinch a spot in the quarter-finals.

The captain also played down talk of hiis team as being favourites to win. “I don’t think we can talk about being favorites or not because we had a good group stage, but now we have to take it game by game. We have a big match already in a few days, so we have to do the job and take it step by step,” Mahrez said.

While he said winning the Africa Cup of Nations would be “incredible,” Mahrez is focused on the immediate task at hand.

Algeria has won the tournament twice: first when they hosted it in 1990; they won another title in the 2019 edition, which took place in Egypt.

DR Congo have also wn the title twice, once in 1968 as Congo-Kinshasa, and again eight years later as Zaire.