December 23, (THEWILL) — The Democratic Republic of Congo opened their Africa Cup of Nations Group D campaign with a 1-0 victory over Benin in Morocco. Théo Bongonda scored the only goal of the match in the first half after the Benin defence stopped when a ball was played into the area, allowing the forward to place his shot into the bottom corner.
Benin struggled to create attacking opportunities throughout the match, with their first shot on target not arriving until the 65th minute through substitute Romaric Amoussou. The Cheetahs nearly found an equaliser when Dodo Doku’s header from a free-kick sailed narrowly wide, whilst Tosin Aiyegun squandered three late chances to rescue a point for his side.
DR Congo thought they had doubled their advantage two minutes into the second half when Cédric Bakambu headed home unmarked from Nathaniël Mbuku’s cross. However, following a lengthy VAR review, the goal was ruled out after Mbuku was judged to have been in an offside position during the build-up.
The result extends Benin’s dismal record at the Africa Cup of Nations, as they remain without a victory inside 90 minutes across 15 tournament matches. The Congolese, meanwhile, have now won six consecutive matches on foreign soil following five straight pre-tournament victories.
English Premier League players Arthur Masuaku and Aaron Wan-Bissaka provided width for DR Congo throughout the contest, pushing forward at every opportunity and limiting Benin’s ability to exploit the flanks. Cédric Bakambu was named man of the match despite missing a golden opportunity when clean through on goal, with goalkeeper Saturnin Allagbé diverting his effort wide.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
