DR Congo national team coach Sebastien Desabre has urged his side to show humility going into their final 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, as the Leopards prepare to take on Sudan at the Stade des Martyrs on Saturday.
Kick-off is at 6:00pm (SA, GMT+2)
With Group I on a knife edge, DR Congo are currently in first place with nine points, while Mauritania and Gabon are level on seven points in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Then, Sudan, who are in last position, managed to accumulate six points from five games. In order to qualify, Sudan require nothing less than a victory against DR Congo, with the hope that Mauritania and Gabon share the spoils in their final fixture.
DR Congo head into their next game on the back of three consecutive wins and will need to avoid defeat to book their ticket in next year’s showpiece.
Speaking ahead of the tie against Sudan, Desabre called for his team to play with humility while focusing on the task of qualification.
“You know, we start with zero points in the group and our objective was to make this last home game decisive for qualification. It is to be taken very seriously,” Desabre said.
“It is an encounter that calls us to a lot of rigor and humility to obtain this qualification and to complete this first work. We all know it's always been harder to finish the job.
“What we do not want is a lack of humility because the match will be difficult, complicated and we must do good preparation seriously and that will give us results.”
Sudan, fondly known as the Nile Crocodiles, struggled to string consistent results together during their 2023 Afcon qualifying campaign.
In their five encounters this far, Sudan managed to record two victories and three defeats. In one of their more positive results, Sudan bagged a 2-1 home win over DR Congo in June 2022.
Sudan will be facing DR Congo for the third time in their history, with each side recording a win a piece in all competitions.
