Already held in check by Sierra Leone (0-0) then beaten by Equatorial Guinea (1-0), Algeria finished last in group E of the CAN with only one point on the clock.
Côte d’Ivoire, which will face Egypt in the round of 16, won on goals from Franck Kessié (22nd), Ibrahim Sangaré (39th) and Nicolas Pépé (54th).
Algeria reduced the score by Sofiane Bendebka (74th).
African champions in 1990, the “Fennecs” had also been eliminated in the first round at the following CAN, in 1992 in Senegal, with already a defeat once morest Côte d’Ivoire (3-0), which had finished champion of Africa.
Arriving undefeated in Cameroon, Algeria extended their unbeaten streak to 35 matches before losing twice.
The next big meeting for the selection led by Djamel Belmadi is in March for the World Cup play-offs, the draw of which takes place on Sunday in Douala.