Desabre not worried ahead of AFCON R16 clash against Salah-Less Egypt

Sebastien Desabre is indifferent and will approach Egypt same way, with or without marksman Mo. Salah, the Frenchman revealed.

Just like Egypt, DR Congo have qualified from group F as runner-ups despite not winning a single game, drawing all their three games against Zambia, Morocco, and Tanzania.

They will now face up on January 28 at the Laurent Pokou Stadium in San Pédro and the winner will face either Equatorial Guinea or Guinea in the quarter-finals.

This will mark the fifth time both nations came up against each other in the AFCON, with the latest meeting coming back in the 2019 edition, when the Pharaohs emerged victorious 2-0, thanks to goals from Ahmed Elmohamady and Mohamed Salah.

Speaking ahead of the game DR Congo coach Sébastien Desabre, who coached Pyramids FC and Ismaily before, said: “We would have liked to face Mohamed Salah. He is a legend, an icon, and a great example in Egypt.

“However, the Egyptian national team has many options, and distinguished players who have shown a strong reaction in his absence.

“We are prepared to face Egypt, the team that has a strong attack. The group stage is over, and now we are entering another competition with different rules where there is no room for losers.

“My players know what is expected of them, both individually and collectively, and they are ready for it.

“Egypt conceded six goals and played in three different ways. We will work on exploiting their defensive vulnerabilities”.