EBIBEYIN, Equatorial Guinea (Reuters) - The Congo squad found an unlikely saviour when the team bus broke down in a forest and they were rescued by Sunday's African Nations Cup opponents Burkina Faso.
French radio reported that the players were left needing to hitch a ride on the way from Bata to Ebibeyin for their final Group A game.
Travelling along the same road was the Burkina Faso bus which was almost empty as their players had been put into more comfortable mini-busses for the three-hour journey.
It picked up Congo's squad and delivered them to their destination after a delay of only an hour.
Earlier in the competition Congo coach Claude LeRoy complained bitterly about the team bus because it had no air conditioning in the African heat.
Burkina Faso must win on Sunday to stand a chance of advancing to the quarter-finals while Congo need a draw to seal their place in the knockout stages.