DR Congo coach Otis Ngoma has promised to go out with all guns blazing against Senegal as he targets a win to keep his side in the 2022 TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN).
The Teranga Lions are up against the Leopards of DR Congo in what is likely to be a thrilling Group B fixture in the Algerian city of Annaba on Sunday.
A draw could see Senegal advance while only a win will help the Congolese to progress to the knoock-out stages of the competition.
Quarter-final regulars, DR Congo could be eliminated from the competition for the first time at the group stage - fears Ngoma dismissed.
"We will try new things on Sunday. We will take risks. Jean Marc Makusu is here with others. They know this competition and we believe tomorrow will be different. We will give 200% for Congolese people and qualify," Ngoma stated.
Against the Uganda Cranes and Cote D'Ivoire, the DRC created chances, but finishing was the team's undoing, a problem Otis Ngoma wants to resolve.
"I don't think we are inexperienced. We are in a situation in which we need to win. No excuses.
"A national team is not just an assembly of players. It's about jelling together. These same players helped us qualify for this competition. We just had a problem of cohesion, but all that matters to us tomorrow is to qualify," the 61-year-old added.
Senegal played against Congo in a friendly in June last year, and coach Otis Ngoma hopes it plays to his team's advantage:
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"We know this Senegal team. We played them last June. We need to manage our strength and make scoring our priority," coach Ngoma ended.
DR Congo needs nothing less than a victory to avoid an early exit from the competition for the first time in six editions. Senegal will be happier if the game ends in a dead rubber and there's a favorable result elsewhere.
Marc Makusu is chasing a personal record which should be secondary on the night as all DR Congo wants is a victory.
Present in the pre-match press conference alongside his coach, 30-year-old Kinshasa native, Makusu, adhered to his gaffer's statements as regards the game's stakes.
"The team has taken all the pieces to win this game. We want to do better than we did against Cote D'Ivoire.
"The most important thing is to look at ourselves and try to get better. We want to qualify. I don't think about the pressure of scoring. For us it's about playing to win," Makusu ended.
Marc Makusu Mundele could become the first player to score in three editions of the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship after his goals in 2014 and 2016. However, the Vita Club goal poacher fancies a win for the team.
The DR Congo face Senegal in the last round of matches in group B at the 19 May 1956 Stadium, 19:00 GMT on Sunday January 22.
Uganda battles for a quarter-final berth with Cote D'Ivoire in the other fixture at the Nelson Mandela stadium in Baraki, Algeria.
