DR Congo Coach: We Did Not Deserve to Lose to Egypt

DR Congo national team head coach Florent Ibenge has conceded that they did not deserve to lose against Egypt in their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Group B second match on Wednesday.

Despite dominating the game, DR Congo were undone in a 2-0 defeat at Cairo International Stadium. The Leopards had lost their opening game, on the same score margin, against Uganda.

“We did not deserve to lose. Yes, we played a bad game against Uganda but this time we had a very good game against Egypt,” Ibenge told reporters.

The coach admitted his players were crushed by the result, and termed it an unfair reflection of the match but called on them to take lessons from it and move as fast as possible with a focus on recovering in the next match.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] “I feel sorry for the players who gave their best today against a strong team like Egypt. We will fight in the next match against Zimbabwe to get the 3 points.”   [/perfectpullquote]

Ahmed Elmohamady gave Egypt the lead after 25 minutes when he pounced on a loose ball, before firing home from close range.

Two minutes before the half-time whistle, Mohamed Salah secured the win with a composed finish following an impressive solo run and assist from Mahmoud Trezeguet.

“(Mohamed) Salah and (Mahmoud) Trezeguet are amazing players and they make the difference for Egypt,” said Ibenge when asked about the duo.

Congo finish their group matches against Zimbabwe on Sunday at the 30^th June Stadium, where they will have to win, for them to have a mathematical chance of making it to the Round of 16.