The DR Congo will work hard this coming game in order to avoid a loss and to ensure a positive result against Egypt when both teams meet Wednesday in the African Cup of Nations, according to Jean-Florent Ibenge. The Congolese coach also stressed that the Leopards vowed to recover from the opening match loss.
"We will play to avoid a loss against Egypt and to win at least one point to help us proceed to the next round. Our strategy will be if you didn't win, you shouldn't lose," Ibenge said in the pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
Hosts Egypt will be facing DR Congo at Cairo Stadium in the second round of the prestigious tournament's group stage.
The Pharaohs secured a narrow 1-0 win over Zimbabwe in the AFCON opener on Friday. DR Congo lost 2-0 to rivals Uganda in the opening match on Saturday.
"The loss from Uganda was difficult, but this is life and we should work and prepare for the must-win Egypt match," the Congolese coach explained.
"According to statistics, we delivered a bad performance against Uganda and all the players weren't in top form.
"After the defeat, we vowed to win against Egypt. We look at the game with a different point of view since our opponents will be playing at home with the presence of its supporters and search for a win to ensure qualification. Our target is to win and revive our hopes for proceeding to the next round."
"We will perform better against Egypt and we will deal with any atmosphere as the hot weather wasn't a reason for the loss to Uganda.
"The loss was a harsh one but we all recovered quickly and worked hard to achieve our dream in the tournament. DR Congo is a big country in Africa that has a legitimate dream to compete for the title. We shouldn't lose hope," he concluded.
Egypt, the record seven-time African champions, will face Uganda in their last Group A match on 30 June.
With Aguirre at the helm, the Pharaohs are optimistic about winning the precious title of AFCON champions for the first time since 2010, which would be their eighth victory.
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