Algeria coach Petkovic: “DR Congo never give up, I congratulate them”

Algeria head coach Vladimir Petkovic believes that the upcoming clash against DR Congo will mark the true beginning of the Greens’ journey in the Africa Cup of Nations 2025.

Algeria will face DR Congo on Tuesday at 4:00 PM GMT in the Round of 16 at the Prince Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Petkovic said:
“We are facing an important match and we hope to qualify. We have a strong desire to stay in Rabat. It will be a tough encounter against a difficult opponent with many positive qualities.”

The Bosnian-Croatian coach added:
“We are happy with what we achieved in the group stage, but that is now in the past. We are facing a strong opponent and my full focus is on this match only. I am not thinking about the next step yet.”

Petkovic described the game as a starting point for his team:
“The DR Congo match will be a starting point. Every match can be a new beginning, and the most important thing is that we have positivity and confidence.”

He went on to praise DR Congo’s strengths:
“They are a well-organized team in all phases of play, compact between the lines, and they never give up over the full 90 minutes. You can clearly see the impact of the coach’s work. I congratulate them on what they have achieved, including their positive results in the qualifiers.”

The Algerian coach also confirmed a setback, announcing that left-back Jaouen Hadjam will return to his Swiss club Young Boys due to injury:
“We tried to recover the player, but unfortunately we were not successful, and he will return to his club.”

Commenting on the tournament infrastructure, Petkovic said:
“Despite the heavy rainfall, the infrastructure in Morocco has been excellent and met expectations. There are no negative points to mention.”

The winner of Algeria vs DR Congo will advance to the quarter-finals, where they will face Nigeria Super Eagles.

Algeria topped Group E with a perfect nine points, while DR Congo finished second in Group D with seven points, level with Senegal but behind on goal difference.

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