DR Congo – Ivory Coast

Democratic Republic Congo, one of the surprises of the African Cup of Nations, meets the odds on favorites Ivory Coast in the tournament semifinals.

DR Congo were very fortunate to qualify from a group with Tunisia, Zambia and Cape Verde. They finished second, only because of scoring one more goal than Cape Verde … but without winning a game. But their first win of the tournament came at the right time vs. rivals Congo, a superb 4-2 victory after being led 2-0 in the 65 minute. Overall it was not great football from DR Congo, but the manner of the win showed they have a good mentality and for sure will give them a lot of confidence.

DR Congo does not have a very strong team on paper, but there are some players who can make the difference like Mulumbu (West Brom), Bolasie (Crystal Palace) or Mbokani (Dynamo Kiev). Important defender Zoukani will probably not recover from injury and will miss from the lineup.

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Ivory Coast were horrible to watch in the friendlies before the tournament and played real poor football in the first two matches of the African Nations Cup … drawing with Guinea and Mali. The Elephants were looking worse than ever, with no tactical consistency and a lot of individual play … but I guess like all big teams they raised their level when it counted. The last two games were very good for Ivory Coast, 1-0 vs. Cameroon and 3-1 vs. Algeria, two very strong teams. Totally different level and implications from Ivory Coast and they look like the best team by a mile in this tournament at the moment. Ivory Coast can field the best lineup today, there are no missing players.

If you asked me two weeks ago I had no positive things to say about Ivory Coast, but the last two games they were at an excellent level, playing good defense and showing killer instinct in front of goal … something they were lacking before. DR Congo has not been so impressive, scraping three draws in the group and winning a game they probably should not have won vs. Congo. I can see DR Congo with a lot of enthusiasm and fighting spirit today, but Ivory Coast’s quality and form will prevail … they finally look like the team people expected them to be. My tip will be Ivory Coast to win. Correct score prediction: Democratic Republic Congo – Ivory Coast 0-2.

Pick: Ivory Coast
Odds: 1.68 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 5.44
Event date: 4 February