DR Congo's Wissa stays positive despite draw with Zambia in AFCON 2023

Mahmoud Elassal , Thursday 18 Jan 2024

DR Congo's striker, Yoan Wissa, maintained a positive outlook despite his team's 1-1 draw against Zambia in their opening Group F match of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) late on Wednesday.

Wissa
DR Congo s striker Yoan Wissa

 

"I take away some positives from this match. We created numerous chances. Now it's up to us to work on converting them into goals," Wissa expressed during the post-game press conference.

Kings Kangwa put Zambia in an early lead in the Ivorian coastal city of San-Pedro after Congolese goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi ventured out of his area.

However, Wissa, who has scored four goals in the English Premier League this season for Brentford, equalized from close range before the half-hour mark, and that's how it ended.

Wissa emphasized the crucial role played by coach Sébastien Desabre in shaping the team's tactics.

"He instills a lot of confidence in us, and we have the players to execute the style of play we present against the opposing defense," he added.

"The beautiful game serves no purpose if we don't score when we want to win. We gave our best, but we fell short. I'm confident we will improve," Wissa concluded.

DR Congo faces a challenging task in their second-round group stage match against title contenders Morocco on 21 January.

They will wrap up their group stage campaign against Tanzania on 24 January.

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