{"id":2422,"date":"2026-01-07T08:42:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T08:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2422"},"modified":"2026-01-07T02:53:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T02:53:41","slug":"algeria-beat-dr-congo-in-extra-time-to-face-nigeria-in-quarter-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2422","title":{"rendered":"Algeria beat DR Congo in extra time, to face Nigeria in quarter-finals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Algeria secured a dramatic 1-0 victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo in their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) last-16 tie on Tuesday, setting up a quarter-final showdown with Victor Osimhen\u2019s Nigeria in Marrakesh on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A late strike by substitute Adil Boulbina in the 119th minute settled a tense encounter at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ayra Starr - Goodbye (Warm Up) ft. Asake (Official Music Video)\" width=\"980\" height=\"551\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/22PZkwJpu9k?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Released on the left, the 22-year-old forward, who plays for Al-Duhail in Qatar, advanced into the area and unleashed a powerful shot into the net, sparking wild celebrations among the 18,837 fans in attendance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Boulbina, making just his second appearance off the bench at the tournament, was overcome with emotion after the match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI have always dreamed of playing for the national team. It is the ambition of every Algerian to play for their country and do well. I had my chance and scored, and the most important thing is that we won and qualified for the next round,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 2019 champions, who won all their group-stage games, now appear as strong contenders to claim a third continental title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their victory, however, was a bitter blow for DR Congo, who had hoped to face Nigeria after defeating the Super Eagles on penalties in a World Cup qualifying play-off in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are obviously disappointed with the outcome. I thought it was a top-level game between two really good sides. The players gave everything. We fought to the end, but unfortunately, it was not enough,\u201d said DR Congo coach Sebastien Desabre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The match itself failed to live up to its billing, with few clear chances in the first half. Burnley defender Axel Tuanzebe headed just wide from a corner for DR Congo, while Algeria\u2019s Ibrahim Maza fired narrowly past the goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the second half, Edo Kayembe tested Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane with a long-range effort, but the score remained goalless, forcing extra time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Algeria grew more threatening in extra time, with Congolese goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi producing fine saves from Fares Chaibi and Baghdad Bounedjah in the 111th minute. A winning goal seemed unlikely until Ramiz Zerrouki released Boulbina with a precise pass, allowing the substitute to score and secure the win. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.channelstv.com\/2026\/01\/06\/algeria-beats-dr-congo-in-extra-time-to-face-nigeria-in-quarter-finals\/\">(Channels)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Algeria secured a dramatic 1-0 victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo in their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) last-16 tie on Tuesday, setting up a quarter-final showdown with Victor Osimhen\u2019s Nigeria in Marrakesh on Saturday. A late strike by substitute Adil Boulbina in the 119th minute settled a tense encounter at the Moulay El [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[2792,2589,636,2791,2793,424,638,1661],"class_list":["post-2422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-adil-boulbina","tag-africa-cup-of-nations-2025","tag-algeria","tag-democratic-republic-of-congo","tag-luca-zidane","tag-nigeria","tag-quarter-final","tag-victor-osimhen"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Algeria beat DR Congo in extra time, to face Nigeria in quarter-finals - Tona Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Algeria secured a dramatic 1-0 victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo in their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) last\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tona.today\/?p=2422\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Algeria beat DR Congo in extra time, to face Nigeria in quarter-finals - 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