Guinea’s dream of winning the Africa Cup of Nations has shattered. VfB, on the other hand, can breathe a sigh of relief – and hope for their top striker to return soon.
Stuttgart striker Serhou Guirassy and the Guinea national team were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations. From Guinea’s perspective, the score against the Democratic Republic of Congo was 1:3 (1:1) on Friday evening. Neither Guirassy nor Werder Bremen’s Naby Keïta could do anything to change the bankruptcy. A return to the Bundesliga for the two professionals is now imminent.
The use of Guirassy would be particularly important for VfB Stuttgart: The Bundesliga’s surprise team will face league rivals Bayer Leverkusen in the DFB Cup quarter-finals next Tuesday (from 8:45 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online) – and can make good use of their top scorer.
Guirassy has recently been plagued by thigh problems. During the Africa Cup he was only used as a substitute. Before the quarter-finals, Guinea’s national coach Kaba Diawara said of Guirassy’s fitness level: “He’s really at 100 percent now.” The striker started the tournament injured and first had to recover.
Teammate Silas sends Guirassy home
The Democratic Republic of Congo also made it to the semi-finals of the Africa Cup with the help of Stuttgart Bundesliga striker Silas. Shortly after his substitution, the attacker took the penalty that put his team on the road to victory against Guinea.
Guinea took the lead through Mohamed Bayo in the 20th minute, DR Congo equalized through Chancel Mbemba (27th). Yoane Wissa used the penalty won by Silas to make it 2-1 (65th), before Arthur Masuaku (82nd) made everything clear with a free kick.
In addition to Silas, VfB also has to do without two other professionals. Midfielder Jeong Woo-yeong (South Korea) and defender Hiroki Ito (Japan) are currently at the Asian Cup in Qatar. While Jürgen Klinsmann’s South Koreans are already confirmed as semi-finalists, Japan is currently fighting to advance against Iran.