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Africa Cup of Nations preview: DR Congo

Sports Mole looks ahead to the DR Congo's Africa Cup of Nations campaign in South Africa.

It may come as a surprise to some people, but DR Congo are two-time winners of this competition. However, they have not lifted the trophy since 1974.

This time around they have a coach with a broad knowledge of the tournament in Claude Le Roy, who guided Cameroon to success in the 1988 version of Africa Cup of Nations.

The 64-year-old returned to DR Congo for a second stint in charge in 2011 and has been lauded for reversing the fortunes of the national team.

In qualifying they were particularly impressive, having defeated the Seychelles and Equatorial Guinea 7-0 and 6-2 on aggregate respectively.

Group: B

Players to watch out for:

Dieumerci Mbokani

The 27-year-old was signed by Anderlecht in 2011 to fill the void left by teenager Romelu Lukaku, who had opted to sign on at Chelsea. Having overcome the death of his five-month-old son, Mbokani has gone on to become a real hit with the Belgian side's faithful. So far this campaign he has found the net 15 times to add to the 14 that he scored last season. He was also in good form during qualifying, scoring two of the goals against Equatorial Guinea.

Youssouf Mulumbu

Having arrived in England with West Bromwich Albion in 2009 from Paris Saint-Germain, Mulumbu has earned a number of plaudits for his performances. Although not a prolific goalscorer, the 25-year-old offers a combative presence in the midfield which could prove crucial to his nation in the closing stages of matches.

Previous best: Winners 1968, 1974

Odds outright to win: 66/1

Sports Mole says: Group stages

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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


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