Chancel Mbemba entered the must-win game furtively. There were 91 minutes on the clock. His teammate, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Brian Cipenga, had just tested Andre Onana with a speculative, angled effort which the Cameroon goalkeeper tipped over the bar.
Here was a last-gasp opportunity, a corner at 0-0. Mbemba, the Congo captain, put himself at the back of the queue to meet it. And meet it he did, Cipenga aiming beyond the far post and Mbemba arriving with stunning authority to score.
Mbemba had cleared the first hurdle of a marathon series of playoffs that, if DR Congo can again show the same nerve, the same poise under pressure, might yet take the vast, long-suffering central African nation to their first World Cup finals for more than half a century.
Step one was Cameroon, Africa’s most regular attendees at football’s greatest show, being eliminated 1-0 thanks to Mbemba in stoppage time.
Step two: Nigeria, the heavyweights of the sub-Saharan region, beaten on penalties in the final of
Continue Reading on The National UAE
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.