Defending champions Ivory Coast progressed in contrasting fashion with a comfortable 3-0 win over Burkina Faso on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT).
Boulbina left fly for Algeria from the edge of the penalty area to the top far corner of the goal in the 119th minute, sending the majority of fans at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat into wild celebrations.
Algeria will face Nigeria in Marrakech in the quarter-finals on Saturday after the Super Eagles advanced with a 4-0 rout of Mozambique on Monday.
After their initial disappointment, Congo can prepare for a World Cup playoff. The Leopards will face either New Caledonia or Jamaica in Mexico in March for one of the last spots at the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
There was no such drama for Ivory Coast in the final second-round match in Marrakech.
Amad Diallo, who already had two goals for the Elephants, opened the scoring in the 20th minute when he received the ball from Yan Diomande on the edge of the penalty area and surged past two defenders before dinking the ball inside the top right corner.
Diallo returned the favour 12 minutes later for Diomande to make it 2-0 with a low shot inside the left post, and Bazoumana Toure sealed the win on a counterattack in the 87th minute.
The defending champions next face Egypt in Agadir on Saturday for a spot in the semi-finals.
Algeria have been well-supported in neighbouring Morocco, but relations between the two countries are strained and Moroccan fans were more likely to cheer for Algeria's rivals. Still, despite the bid to boost Congolese support, Algerian fans were in the majority.
Local media also reported that FBI agents were attending the match to observe security arrangements, which were noticeably tighter than for previous games.Â
The FBI was reportedly present to learn what it can about fan management before next summer's World Cup.
Roared on by the green-and-white support, Algeria dominated the ball and had Congolese defenders scrambling under constant pressure.
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