The match at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat was heading towards a penalty shoot-out when Boulbina, a forward who plays his club football in Qatar, made the decisive impact in the 119th minute. Released down the left, he drove into the area and unleashed a powerful strike that found the back of the net.

The moment sparked wild celebrations inside the stadium, with the majority of the 18,837 supporters backing Algeria.

The 2019 champions, who won all their group matches, are now emerging as strong contenders for a third continental title. They will face a mouth-watering quarter-final clash against Victor Osimhen’s Nigeria in Marrakesh on Saturday.

It was a crushing outcome for DR Congo, who arrived at the Africa Cup of Nations with high expectations and had hoped to set up another meeting with Nigeria, having beaten the Super Eagles on penalties in a World Cup qualifying play-off last November.

The Leopards can take some consolation from the fact they still have an intercontinental play-off in March, where victory over New Caledonia or Jamaica would secure qualification for their first World Cup since 1974.

Algeria, who have already secured their place at the World Cup finals in North America, remain fully focused on going all the way in Morocco.

Despite being billed as one of the ties of the round, the match itself failed to fully deliver. Both sides struggled for quality in the final third, with neither Riyad Mahrez nor Ibrahim Maza completing the full 90 minutes for Vladimir Petkovic’s side.

Chances were limited. Axel Tuanzebe headed just wide for DR Congo, while Maza fired narrowly past the post in the first half. In the second period, a long-range effort from Edo Kayembe forced a fine save from Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane, the closest either team came before extra time.

Algeria grew increasingly threatening during the extra half-hour, with Lionel Mpasi producing excellent saves to deny Fares Chaibi and Baghdad Bounedjah in quick succession.

A shoot-out looked inevitable until substitutes Ramiz Zerrouki and Boulbina, introduced together late in extra time, combined for the decisive moment. Zerrouki’s perfectly weighted pass released the 22-year-old Al-Duhail forward, who calmly sealed victory.

A. Boulbina

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