DR Congo are the lowest ranked country in the World Cup playoffs, they are ranked 12th in Africa and 66th in the world
By Kehinde Okeowo
DR Congo will go head to head with their North African counterpart, Morocco in an attempt to earn one of the five tickets for the African continent at the 2022 Qatar World Cup later in the year.
Moroccan has faced DR Congo (DRC) a total of 13 times, in which the Atlas Lions won 4 matches , the Leopards won 3 matches, while 6 matches ended in draws.
The first leg of the encounter will see the leopards host Atlas Lions at the Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa on 25th March, while a reverse fixture will take place on the 29th of the same month at the Complexe Mohammed V, Casablanca in Morocco.
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South African referee Victor Gomes will officiate the first leg of the 2022 FIFA World Cup playoffs, while Burundian referee, Pacifique Ndabihawenimana will take charge of the return leg in Casablanca.
Ranking
DR Congo are the lowest ranked country in the CAF World Cup playoffs, they are ranked 12th in Africa and 66th in the world. Their more illustrious opponent, Morocco are the 2nd best footballing nation in Africa and they are 24th in the world.
How they qualified
DR Congo narrowly edged out Benin Republic with a point in Group J, earning 13 points after winning 3 games, drawing 2, and losing 1. Tanzania and Madagascar were 3rd and 4th respectively in the group.
Morocco on the other hand won 6 games to earn the maximum points in Group I, they remain the only team to win all their matches in the 10 groups, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, and Sudan were the other teams in their group.
Players to watch out for
Morocco
Achraf Hakimi
Hakimi is simply the best right-back in Africa and one of the best in the world, his ability to carry an entire flank is key to Morocco’s attacking play, as are his low deliveries across the box.
The Paris St-Germain defender will be a handful for DR Congo’s left-back when they meet on Friday.
Ilias Chair
The Queens Park Rangers player is a lively attacking midfielder with a repertoire of dribbles, drags, and rolls. He is the sort of player who is easy to fall in love with.
Chair made his international debut midway through 2021 but has made his case to be a starter with increasing ferocity since then.
Romain Saïss
Saïss began his career with Valence, then played for Le Havre and Clermont of Ligue 2, and Angers of Ligue 1 before joining Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2016.
A full international since 2012, Saïss has earned over 50 caps for Morocco. He represented the nation at three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Sofiane Boufal
Boufal made his debut for Morocco on 26 March 2016 starting in a 1–0 African Cup of Nations qualification victory against Cape Verde. He was also unexpectedly omitted from the final squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup by coach Hervé Renard.
He later represented Morocco at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. He was one of two Moroccan players who failed to score in their 4–1 penalty shootout defeat to Benin in the Round of 16.
DR Congo
Yannick Bolasie
In March 2013, Bolasie made his international debut for DR Congo. He was part of the Congolese squad at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.
He scored the equaliser in their first group game, a 1–1 draw against Zambia at the Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyín on 18 January, and the team finished in third place. He is currently with the Turkish Süper Lig club Çaykur Rizespor.
Arthur Masuaku
Having represented France at the youth level, Masuaku switched his allegiance to DR Congo in June 2017. In August of the same year, he was called into the DR Congo squad for the 2018 World Cup qualification games against Tunisia. But did not make his international debut.
He eventually made his debut on 13 October 2018, starting in a 1–2 home loss against Zimbabwe in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification game. Masuaku scored his first goal for DR Congo, a free-kick, in a 1–1 away draw with Kenya on 15 June 2019. He currently plays for West Ham.
Cédric Bakambu
In March 2015, he opted to represent DR Congo at the senior level. He was first called up in June ahead of a friendly against Cameroon on the 9th and started that match, a 1–1 draw at the Stade Charles Tondreau in Mons, Belgium.
In March 2019, Bakambu started and scored the winner in a 1–0 victory against Liberia. The win secured The Leopards’ qualification to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, at the expense of their opponents. He currently plays for Olympique Marseille.
Yoane Wissa
Wissa was called into the DR Congo squad for a pair of friendly matches in October 2020. He started in both matches and scored his first international goal with the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Morocco on 13 October. He plies his trade with Premier League side Brentford.
World Cup history
Morocco have participated in the World Cup five times in their history and will be hoping for a return to the world stage in 2022 in Qatar.
DR Congo was the first African nation to qualify for the World Cup in 1974, but they did as Zaire, the Leopards are seeking to return 48 years later as DR Congo.
Favourite
Morocco are ranked second in Africa, eleven places above their opponents who are ranked twelfth, the North Africans also won all the 6 games they played at the group stages of the qualifier.
They are therefore favourites to progress ahead of DR Congo, who will feel they can cause an upset and book their first World Cup ticket.