AFCON 2023: Ivory Coast v DR Congo, which of the two miracle sides will reach the final?

It already irritates Sébastien Desabre to hear talk of the AFCON of surprises. So you can imagine he will loathe the label "miracle side" being applied to Ivory Coast and DR Congo, who meet in the semi-final of this AFCON 2023 at the Alassane-Ouattara stadium in Abidjan. That is not to dispute the work of the coaches and players, but champions often have a measure of luck carrying them along. A miracle, at times. And the Congolese know that well: a good number of them had already written off the 34th edition before the arrival of the messiah Desabre.

After two qualifying matchdays for this AFCON, the Leopards were indeed on the brink, with two defeats, senior players such as Bakambu slamming the door, a newcomer such as Wissa criticising the running of the Federation, and coach Hector Cuper dismissed. But thanks to Desabre's work (which should not be forgotten) and a touch of luck, with three points awarded administratively at Mauritania's expense because of an eligibility issue involving a Mourabitoune player who nonetheless continues to play, DR Congo recovered and booked their ticket to Ivory Coast. In the tournament, fortune has kept travelling with the Leopards, who are in the semi-final today having won just one game: the quarter-final against Guinea.

Will luck keep smiling on them? They will need it in any case to get past the Elephants, who embody the miracle all on their own over the past 15 days. Having left the Alassane-Ouattara stadium on 22 January, humiliated by Equatorial Guinea (4-0), jeered by their own supporters and left for dead for the whole of the rest of matchday 3, they return to the Olympic arena after a resurrection in Yamoussoukro, the city of the basilica, and a lift from Bouaké. In the meantime, they have also swapped their old white sorcerer for a young guru, born in exactly the year Ivory Coast hosted their first AFCON and suffered a heavy failure.