Worldcup 1998 : ACN'98 - Cameroon 0 / DR Congo 1, February 01, 1998.

CAMEROON 0 / DR CONGO 1, February 20, 1998.

Upset puts Congo in African Cup semis
Cameroon falls 1-0 on first-half goal by Tondelua
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BOBO DIOULASSO, Burkina Faso , February 20, 1998 (AP)

Little-known Congo pulled off a surprising 1-0 upset Friday over one of Africa's traditional soccer powers, Cameroon, to advance to the semifinals of the African Cup of Nations.

The Simba Lions of Congo, formerly Zaire, dominated Cameroon's Indomitable Lions in the second half of the game, although Cameroon's vaunted attackers missed several chances to score.

The only goal of the game was scored by striker Mbuilua Tondelua, who headed a free kick from Epotele Bazamba into the net 29 minutes into the first half. Tondelua later came within inches of scoring on a breakaway left cross from attacking partner Alphonse Tchami, who was substituted in the second half.

The match heated up for a 10-minute period in the second half when Cameroon's Joseph Desire Job was taken off the ball with a good chance on goal. Job later failed to convert on a close-range shot given to him by a goalkeeper's error.

Congo's Umba Kanokene put the ball in the net a second time but the goal was called off by the referee who called a foul against the goalkeeper.

Congo played the final 23 minutes of the match without its star central defender, Esele Bakasu, who was red-carded for an incident behind the play.

The team's defender Mundaba Kisombe was also banished from the field with two minutes remaining for his second yellow-card infraction.

The win comes at a price for Congo, which goes into the semifinals handicapped by penalties that leave three players expelled and a fourth out with an injury. Congo will face either Burkina Faso or Tunisia next Wednesday.

Cameroon made history as the first African team to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in 1990 under the now-retired veteran captain Roger Milla.

Congo, whose team has been plagued with financial difficulties in years past, has had two soccer successes -- African Cup of Nations wins in 1968 and 1974.