March 25, (THEWILL) – Morocco drew 1-1 with the Democratic Republic of Congo in Kinshasa on Friday, moving closer to a sixth World Cup appearance thanks to Tarik Tissoudali’s brilliant equaliser.
In the 76th minute of the first leg of their play-off, Tissoudali rifled the ball into the net after a well-timed slide tackle by Moroccan defender Romain Saiss.
DR Congo had taken the lead after just 12 minutes when Yoane Wissa dashed down the wing, cut inside, and sent a shot from just outside the area that grazed Saiss and beat goalkeeper Yassine Bounou for a glorious opener.
After falling behind, Morocco was restless, and Cedric Bakambu and Dieumerci Mbokani squandered chances to push the Congolese farther ahead on a drizzly and windy evening.
When Ryan Mmaee fired a penalty over the crossbar early in the second half, the visitors lost a golden chance to equalise and it seemed it was not going to be a good qualifying playoffs for the Moroccans after all.
However, Tissoudali’s 76th minute pile driver that bested Joel Kiassumbua in the DR Congo goal redeemed the Moroccans, gave them an away goal, a share of the points and a chance to reach Qatar.
Then, Ngonda Muzinga was sent off after receiving two yellow cards with five minutes remaining, reducing DR Congo to 10 men. He will not be able to play in the rematch.
A 0-0 draw in Casablanca on Tuesday would send Morocco to the World Cup in Qatar, with away goals counting double if both sides finish equal on aggregate.
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.
