The Algerian national team, the holder of the African Nations Cup, suffered a surprising loss once morest Equatorial Guinea, with a goal in return, in Group E of the current tournament in Cameroon.
With this loss, the balance of the Desert Warriors stopped at a single point, to be bottom in the standings of the group teams and face the risk of bidding farewell to the championship from the first round.
With this victory, Equatorial Guinea, which raised its tally to three points in second place, managed to stop the Algerian team’s unbeaten streak at 35 games, meaning that it was two games away from equalizing the global achievement of Italy, which was recorded last year.
The Algerian team – led by national coach Djamel Belmadi – will have to beat Côte d’Ivoire, next Thursday, if it wishes to qualify for the playoffs.
Esteban Obiang scored twenty minutes before the end of the match once morest Algerian goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi.
Djamel Belmadi’s men drew in their first match in the tournament once morest Sierra Leone, and if the Algerian team fails once morest Côte d’Ivoire, it will be the fifth time that the defending champion has been eliminated from the African Nations Cup from the group stage.
Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi said: “Everyone was talking regarding our unbeaten record. We have to focus on something else, which is to fight to ensure qualification.”
Equatorial Guinea is now ranked No. 114 in the FIFA rankings and No. 28 in the African teams’ standings, and is currently in second place in Group E with three points and is close to qualifying for the round of 16.
The geographical proximity between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon contributed to the attendance of 12,000 supporters to Douala to attend the match and support the “National Thunder” team.
“We are very proud to beat the best team in Africa,” Equatorial Guinea coach Juan Micha said following the match.
Also, in Group E, Sierra Leone snatched a point from Côte d’Ivoire in substitute time. Stephen Coker took advantage of the ball falling from the hand of Elephant goalkeeper Padra Sangari to pass it to the alternative, Hajj Kamara, to end the match with two goals for each team.
Goalkeeper Sangare had the opportunity to guard his country’s goalkeeper following first goalkeeper Sylvain Gboho was banned for doping, and the Ivorians won their first match at the expense of Equatorial Guinea, and now following a draw they are still in the lead with four points.
“In all honesty, I cannot explain the goal we received at the end of the match,” Cote d’Ivoire coach Patrice Baumel said. “You can have Jurgen Klopp or Guardiola as a coach, but they will not be able to answer this question.”
AC Milan’s Frank Kessie missed a penalty kick at the start of the match, but Ajax Amsterdam striker Sebastian Hala advanced to the Elephants before Moussa Camara equalized the score for Sierra Leone, and Nicolas Pepe returned Côte d’Ivoire once more to the front with a neat shot before losing two points due to a goalkeeper error.
At the end of the second round of Group E matches, Cote d’Ivoire leads the group with four points, followed by Equatorial Guinea with three points, then Sierra Leone with two points, and in the last place Algeria with one point.
picture released, Getty Images
Wahbi Khazri was criticized for missing a penalty kick in the Mali match
Tunisia regains its balance
Wahbi Khazri led the Tunisian national team to a 4-0 win over his Mauritanian counterpart in Group F, in a match that took place in Limbe.
Khazri, who plays for Saint-Etienne, scored two goals following Hamza Mathlouthi opened the scoring. Mathlouthi returned and scored the fourth goal for Seif El-Din Jaziri, while Youssef Msakni missed a penalty kick.
The victory of the Carthage Eagles is an important victory following losing the first match once morest Mali, with a goal in return, in a match that saw the Zimbabwean referee, Jani Sikazwe, suspended the meeting twice before its end.
As for the “Al-Mourabitoun” team – the Mauritanian team – they are at the bottom of the group following receiving the second loss in a row.
