Will DR Congo make history?
The African Football Confederation has five slots at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. In the upcoming playoffs, Africa’s strongest teams will face each other, but only five of them will prevail and five teams will lose out. In one match, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the team from Morocco will meet.
For DR Congo, it would be their first World Cup appearance since 1974, when they competed in Germany under the name Zaire. The Moroccans have much more World Cup experience. The Atlas Lions have played on football’s biggest stage five times, most recently in Russia in 2018. Many Moroccans in the squad have already played in a World Cup and therefore, ahead of the first leg between DR Congo and Morocco, the prediction is that the North Africans will go to the World Cup.
The Congolese, however, perhaps have the advantage of being able to focus entirely on World Cup qualification after missing out on participation in the Africa Cup this year. On the other hand, the Atlas Lions have been able to gain much more match practice recently. This should also be an indication that it could be worth betting on an away win in the DR Congo vs Morocco clash.
DR Congo – Statistics & current form
In Hector Cuper, the Leopards have a coach who knows how to lead a team to a World Cup. In 2018, he took Egypt to the finals in Russia. Now the Argentine wants to repeat that coup with DR Congo. His team still has one more step to climb before they return to the world’s biggest football stage after 48 years.
Difficult form to judge
The Leopards’ form is difficult to judge, though. In November, they secured first place in the group stage of World Cup qualifying with victories in Tanzania and at home against Benin, but DR Congo were left with only a spectator role at the Africa Cup in Cameroon. After all, there were only two defeats in the last eight international matches, although the really big opponents were not among them.
This year, Hector Cuper’s team has only played one match. In a test match at the beginning of February, they lost 1-0 to Bahrain. All in all, we have our doubts that the odds on a home win in the duel between DR Congo and Morocco can be successful. The odds on sub-par goals should be more interesting, as both teams will probably act cautiously in this first leg.
Hector Cuper has a couple of returnees in his line-up on Friday. Cedric Bakambu and Yoane Wissa are among them. Meschack Elia from Young Boys Bern has also been invited. After some back and forth, however, he stayed in Switzerland and did not travel to the national team. Apart from that, the Leopards have everything of note on board.
Predicted line-up of DR Congo:
Kiassumbua – Tisserand, Luyindama, Mbemba, Masuaku – Kebano, Bakambu, Bolasie, Kakuta – Mbokani, Malango – coach: Cuper
Last matches played by DR Congo:
Friendly
02/01 2022 – DR Congo 0 – 1 Bahrain
World Cup Qualifier CAF – 2nd Round – Grp. J
11/14 2021 – DR Congo 2 – 0 Benin
11/11 2021 – Tanzania 0 – 3 DR Congo
10/10 2021 – Madagascar 1 – 0 DR Congo
10/07 2021 – DR Congo 2 – 0 Madagascar
Morocco – Statistics & current form
Vahid Halilhodzic has already enjoyed great success with Algeria. Since taking the helm at the Atlas Lions in 2019, the Bosnian has turned the team around significantly. With Hakim Ziyech from Chelsea FC and Noussair Mazraoui from Ajax Amsterdam, he has banned two players from the squad who are among the country’s biggest stars, but don’t seem to fit into the team on a human level.
Morocco almost invincible
The success proves the coach right, however, as there has been no defeat in regular time in the last 32 matches. In the quarter-finals of the FIFA Arab Cup, they lost to Algeria on penalties and at the Africa Cup at the beginning of the year, they lost to Egypt after extra time, also in the quarter-finals. Therefore, we are rather reluctant to predict a home win in the DR Congo versus Morocco clash.
The defeat against Egypt at the Africa Cup in Cameroon was also the Atlas Lions’ last international match to date. Sofiane Boufal even gave his team an early lead, but the Egyptians equalised after an hour and scored the 2-1 winner in extra time. Boufal and Sofian Chakla were subsequently suspended for the match in Kinshasa because of their conduct during the match.
Both will definitely miss Vahid Halilhodzic’s team on Friday. Mazraoui and Ziyech were invited but have decided against travelling to the national team. The Moroccans, however, are characterised by their strength as a team. That’s why names count for little with the North Africans at the moment.
Predicted line-up of Morocco:
Bounou – Masina, Aguerd, Saiss, Hakimi – Amrabat, Fajr, Amallah – El Kaabi, El Haddadi, En-Nesyri – Coach: Halilhodzic
Last matches played by Morocco:
Africa Nations Cup Final
01/30 2022 – Egypt 2 – 1 Morocco
01/25 2022 – Morocco 2 – 1 Malawi
Africa Nations Cup Grp. C
01/18 2022 – Gabon 2 – 2 Morocco
01/14 2022 – Morocco 2 – 0 Comoros
01/10 2022 – Morocco 1 – 0 Ghana
DR Congo – Morocco Direct comparison / H2H balance
To date, the national teams from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Morocco have only faced each other twelve times. The direct comparison points very clearly in the direction of the Atlas Lions. The Moroccans are 4:1 ahead after victories. However, most of the direct duels, namely seven, ended in a draw.
The Leopards’ only victory came in the group stage of the 2017 Africa Cup in Gabon. The last direct encounter took place in October 2020 in a test match in Rabat. The host Moroccans took a 1-0 lead just before the break through a goal by Mazraoui. After an hour, Yoane Wissa equalised for a 1-1 final score.
DR Congo – Morocco Tip
We don’t expect many goals in this first leg. Both teams will first focus on strengthening their own defence. We don’t expect the home side to win this game, as DR Congo have only won one of their 12 matches against the Atlas Lions.
In addition, the Moroccans have only lost twice in extra time or on penalties in their past 32 matches. They have not lost in the regular season since 2019. Therefore, we are inclined to at least not place a bet on a home win in the duel between DR Congo and Morocco. We think a draw or a win for the visitors is more likely.
However, it is also risky to bet directly on a success for the Atlas Lions. We tend to see the visitors in the role of favourites, but still tend to reduce the risk in our bets. Therefore, we have decided to play the betting odds on an away win with DNB in the first leg between DR Congo and Morocco
