Qualification to the knockout stages of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 means a lot to the people of DR Congo.

This was the statement made by DR Congo defender, Gael Kakuta after collecting his TotalEnergies Man of the match Award on Wednesday evening following their 0-0 draw against Tanzania in a Group F clash at Korhogo’s Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium.

“It’s always good to get a trophy. What is important is the qualification and this is good for our people back home who we know have been behind us in this difficult journey. We had a difficult group with strong teams but hard work and support from our people got us through” said Kakuta.

The defender, who plies his trade in France with Amiens SC commended the good display of Tanzania, who head home after finishing bottom of the group.

Despite them not qualifying, it’s a very good nation that is progressing. They really gave us and the rest of the group a lot of work to do. For now, we are going to enjoy the moment. They didn’t score and that is a positive sign that we can work on” concluded Kakuta.