Democratic Republic of Congo forward Britt Assombalonga has revealed his joy at scoring his debut goal for the national team in their 4-0 spanking of Zimbabwe at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The proud forward replaced injured Jonathan Bolingi – scorer of DRC’s first goal – with half-time approaching before netting the Leopards’ fourth in the 78th minute.
Speaking to Goal, the vibrant forward said it was one of the most significant moments of his career to date.
“This moment is up there with the best, especially after hearing stories of past players playing and scoring goals for Congo, and me doing it as well is an amazing feeling” the Middlesbrough striker told Goal.
Furthermore, 26-year-old gushed about hitting the back of the net in front of his watching father and family.
“It was unbelievable and I know he’s a proud dad at the moment," he continued.
“I heard he was in tears after I scored that goal and I’m just happy for my whole family because I know everyone was cheering me and the whole team on.”
After losing the first couple of games against Uganda and Egypt, Florent Ibenge’s men face an anxious wait to see if they’ll progress to the Round of 16 as one of the four best third-placed teams.
Assombalonga believes they shouldn’t dwell on their poor start to the tournament and only look forward in hope of clawing their way into the knockout stages.
“There are regrets, but at the end of the day we can’t live on the regrets and just have to focus on what we’ve done now and hope we can go through and carry on this momentum," he continued.
“We have done what we could’ve done today and we just have to hope and wait. It’s going to be a long couple of days but we just have to rest up and be ready if we do go through.”
With three points, DR Congo finished third in Group A behind hosts Egypt (nine) and Uganda (four). Zimbabwe ended in fourth place with a single point.
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