A dramatic extra-time goal from Adil Boulbina sent Algeria into the quarter-finals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, as they edged out DRC 1–0 in a tense and finely balanced encounter.
Introduced from the bench, Boulbina made the decisive impact deep into extra time. Latching onto a pass down the left from fellow substitute Ramiz Zerrouki, he burst past a visibly tiring Aaron Wan-Bissaka, cut inside and unleashed a powerful right-footed shot that flew over goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi before crashing in off the underside of the crossbar.
It was a cruel ending for DRC, who had matched Algeria throughout an even contest in Rabat and looked set to take the game to a penalty shootout. The Central Africans were organised and disciplined, limiting chances in a match dominated by defensive solidity rather than attacking flair.
Clear openings were scarce, with both backlines largely on top. Algeria once again relied on their defensive resilience, watched from the stands by Zinedine Zidane, as his son Luca kept a fourth clean sheet of the tournament for Les Fennecs.
The result also means DRC remain without a first-ever victory over Algeria, despite a performance that deserved more than defeat.
Algeria, champions in 2019, will now turn their attention to a heavyweight quarter-final clash against Nigeria in Marrakesh on Saturday, confident that their watertight defence can blunt one of the tournament’s most potent attacks.