Algeria on Sunday became the third country after Egypt and Nigeria to qualify for the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations by edging Burkina Faso 1-0 in Rabat through a Riyad Mahrez penalty.
Defending champions Ivory Coast failed to join the trio after drawing 1-1 with Cameroon in a lively showdown in Marrakesh.
Elsewhere, Mozambique ended a 39-match wait for a first victory by beating Gabon 3-2, while Sudan got back into contention for a last-16 slot by beating Equatorial Guinea 1-0 in Casablanca.
Photo: AFP
Captain Mahrez converted from the penalty spot midway through the first half and Algeria then held on to win a bruising contest against a determined Burkina Faso.
The penalty that decided the game was awarded when Manchester City’s Rayan Ait-Nouri was bundled over.
Mahrez made no mistake with his 23rd-minute kick as he followed his brace in the opening 3-0 defeat of Sudan to take his tally to three goals.
The former Leicester City and Manchester City winger now has nine goals at the tournament, an Algerian record.
Algeria, African champions in 1990 and in 2019, have the maximum six points after two games in Group E and are yet to concede a goal, with Vladimir Petkovic’s side living up to their billing as one of the favorites.
France legend Zinedine Zidane was among the 18,522 crowd to watch his son Luca play in goal for the Desert Foxes — he was also at the win over Sudan.
“We were expecting a very tough match. We fought very hard and the most important thing is that we won the game. Now we are qualified and that was the main goal,” said Algeria forward Ibrahim Maza, who was named man of the match. “We knew before that they would be very tough, but we said we would have to fight against it, also be dirty, tackle very hard, and we did that well today.”
Sudan boosted their chances of qualifying from the same group after a Saul Coco own-goal gave them victory over Equatorial Guinea in a scrappy affair.
Unlucky Torino centerback Coco saw the ball come off him and ricochet into the net in the 74th minute when his teammate Luis Asue attempted to clear a free-kick.
Sudan hosted and won the 1970 tournament, but this was just their second victory in 18 matches across six tournament appearances since.
Sudan are competing in Morocco despite the country having been devastated since a civil war broke out in April 2023.
In Group F, Manchester United winger Amad Diallo scored for defending champions Ivory Coast in a draw with Cameroon that left them sharing top spot.
Diallo struck after 51 minutes for his second goal having notched the match-winner against Mozambique four days earlier, but the lead lasted only five minutes before a shot from Junior Tchamadeu took a deflection off Ghislain Konan to bring five-time champions Cameroon level.
Ivory Coast and Cameroon have four points each, one more than Mozambique.
Mozambique ended a long wait for a first victory by beating Gabon in a thriller in southern coastal city Agadir. The Mambas began the match having drawn four and lost 12 since making the first of six appearances at the tournament in 1986.
“Today was a historic day. We overcame so many difficulties and obstacles to get here, and achieve something no one expected of us,” Mozambique head coach Chiquinho Conde said. “Even our most optimistic fans would not have imagined a victory over Gabon. People said Mozambique would never win a match. I had the honor of leading the national team to this victory.”
Goals from Faisal Bangal, Geny Catamo and Diogo Calila won a seesaw struggle for Mozambique, who led 2-1 at halftime.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alex Moucketou-Moussounda netted for Gabon, who twice halved two-goal deficits before suffering a second straight loss after falling to Cameroon.
TOOTHLESS: Bologna never looked like finding a way back, and Antonio Conte and his substitutes were waiting to celebrate long before the final whistle SSC Napoli on Monday lifted the Italian Supercoppa with a 2-0 win over Bologna in Riyadh, David Neres netting both goals to earn the league champions a deserved victory over the toothless Coppa Italia winners. Neres opened the scoring with a stunning strike from distance six minutes before halftime and found the net again in the 57th minute when Bologna were caught trying to play out of defense. “We came here as champions of Italy, we wanted this trophy and we showed it with a great performance,” Napoli forward Matteo Politano told Mediaset. “We could have scored a few more goals, but
Backup quarterback Luke Weaver on Wednesday night threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Nick Cenacle with 10 seconds left, as the University of Hawaii rallied for a 35-31 comeback victory over the University of California, Berkeley in a thrilling Hawaii Bowl. Weaver entered the game after Micah Alejado took a hard hit on the previous play. With the Rainbow Warriors (9-4) in range for a tying field goal, coach Timmy Chang took a shot at the end zone, and Cenacle got between two defensive backs and made the contested catch. “How amazing is that?” Chang said. “It’s a program that is built
Hosts Morocco on Friday were held to a 1-1 draw by Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, ending their world record run of wins and leaving them still to make sure of progress to the next stage. Midfielder Brahim Diaz tucked away a penalty in stoppage-time at the end of the first half, but Mali equalized from the spot midway through the second half through Lassine Sinayoko. Both penalties were awarded after video reviews in a tempestuous clash at the end of a busy day of action at the tournament. Morocco were atop the Group A standings with four points, while Zambia,
An astounding 20 wickets fell on a frantic first day of the fourth Ashes Test yesterday, with Australia all out for 152 before storming back to dismiss England for 110 and leave the clash on a knife-edge. England skipper Ben Stokes won a key toss on a green track and his quicks feasted after sending in the hosts under overcast skies in front of 94,199 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the biggest cricket crowd ever at the cavernous arena, exceeding the 93,013 who watched the 2015 World Cup final, and they witnessed the home side collapse with Josh Tongue
RSS