Former West Ham United defender, Arthur Masuaku, scored a vital goal as the Democratic Republic of Congo defeated Guinea 3-1 to reach the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-finals on Friday night.

Masuaku netted direct from a free-kick in the 82nd minute to give his country a two-goal advantage in the quarter-final and they will face hosts Cote d’Ivoire or Mali for a place in the title decider.

Mohamed Bayo gave Guinea a 20th-minute lead from a penalty which was cancelled by DR Congo captain, Chancel Mbemba, soon after in Abidjan.

Brentford forward, Yoane Wissa, put the Congolese ahead in the 65th minute from the second penalty of the match, then Masuaku effectively settled the outcome.

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“This is not a Cup of Nations of surprises. It is a Cup of Nations of hard work,” France-born DR Congo coach, Sebastien Desabre, said before and again after the last-eight clash.

When he took over last year, the Congolese were in danger of not even making it to Cote d’Ivoire after losses to Gabon and Sudan. Under Desabre, they won their remaining four qualifiers.

History suggested that the first AFCON tournament meeting between the countries in 20 years would be close as three previous matches produced a 2-1 win for each and a 2-2 draw.

The Congolese Leopards reached the last eight without winning a match. They finished runners-up to Morocco in Group F after three draws before edging seven-time champions Egypt via penalties.

Guinea qualified as the best of the four third-placed qualifiers, then Bayo scored the second latest regular-time goal so far to eliminate Equatorial Guinea.

On Saturday, hosts and two-time champions Cote d’Ivoire face Mali in Bouake, and 1996 title-holders South Africa meet Cape Verde in Yamoussoukro in the other quarter-finals.

The Star