Egypt, the seven-time Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) champions, were eliminated from the tournament after losing a penalty shootout 8-7 against DR Congo. The match, which ended 1-1 after extra time, saw DR Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi score the decisive winning penalty in the shootout.
The tense last-16 clash featured Meschack Elia scoring for DR Congo in the 37th minute and Mostafa Mohamed equalising for Egypt with a penalty just before halftime. Mohamed Salah, the Pharaoh’s star player, was absent due to injury.
The match went into extra time, and with Egypt reduced to 10 men after Mohamed Hamdy was sent off, DR Congo applied constant pressure but failed to find the winning goal. The penalty shootout saw DR Congo emerge victorious, setting up a clash against Guinea in the quarterfinals.
Both countries had challenging group-stage campaigns, finishing as runners-up in their respective groups with identical records of three draws and three points.