BATA, Equatorial Guinea -- Yannick Bolasie is reveling in Democratic Republic of the Congo's African Nations Cup run but believes the tournament has a long way to go if it is to match the quality of football he faces back home.
The Crystal Palace winger debuted for DR Congo, his parents' homeland, in 2013 and has been critical to their qualification for the quarterfinals in Equatorial Guinea -- scoring a vital equaliser in their opening game against Zambia. But the 25-year-old says that the level of play here leaves something to be desired.
"It's a bit different," he told ESPN FC. "I don't think it's anywhere near to the Premier League to be honest. Obviously there are good players but I don't know where I'd put it level-wise -- I'd definitely say the Premier League and Championship are much tougher.
"I'm mainly talking about tactics and pace. Sometimes the pace picks up here, and it has in a couple of games, but I think it's tactically much better in England. It's more technical in the Premier League whereas things are more simple here.
"It might change a bit when we come up against better teams -- we man-marked Yaya Toure in qualifying and won, so it worked -- but that's more the exception."
Even so, Bolasie has his eye firmly on progress to the semifinals and DRC's last-eight tie on Saturday is as big as it gets for those of Congolese persuasion. They will face close regional neighbours Republic of the Congo in Bata and the importance of this central African derby is being pressed home to Bolasie and his teammates.
"The committee and the president [of the football federation] have been saying that it's a game we really don't want to lose," he said. "We've had some luck on our side, qualifying with three draws, and this could be the perfect game to really get us going. If we win, we'll have picked up some momentum at the right time and I think we could go all the way."
That would be a fairy tale for a country with a huge population -- around 70 million -- and resources that last won the competition back in 1974. DRC has been one of the competition's better-supported teams, with several hundred fans having flown from Kinshasa and a large migrant population on hand to cheer them on. The atmosphere they have created, even in the sparse crowd that gathered in Bata for Monday's draw with Tunisia, serves as a big motivation.
"Our support has been great," said Bolasie. "They're entertainers and they've got a really high passion for football, which shines through. We can only make them happy by winning. They're happy that we've gone through, because it's been a while, so it's good to have done that and now we've got to make the most of it."