Edi Umoh
Algeria clinched their spot in the Africa Cup of Nations last 16 after a penalty from Riyad Mahrez led them to a 1-0 win against Burkina Faso on Sunday.
Meanwhile, five-time Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) winners Cameroon fought back to hold defending champions Ivory Coast to a gripping 1-1 draw in Marrakech, moving both nations onto four points in Group F.
This was as Mozambique ended a 39-year wait for a first Africa Cup of Nations victory by defeating Gabon 3-2 in a Group F thriller in Agadir on Sunday.
The Mambas began the match having drawn four and lost 12 since making their first of six appearances at the tournament in 1986.
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Goals from Faisal Bangal, Geny Catamo and Diogo Calila won a seesaw struggle for the Mozambicans, who led 2-1 at halftime in the Moroccan coastal city.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alex Moussounda netted for Gabon, who twice halved two-goal deficits before suffering a second straight loss after falling to Cameroon.
Defending champions Ivory Coast and Cameroon, who meet later on Sunday in Marrakesh, and Mozambique have three points each.
Catamo had the first clear-cut chance but was let down by poor control, allowing the ball to run too far in front of him and goalkeeper Loyce Mbaba dashed forward to gain possession.
Mozambique — 24 places below Gabon in the world rankings — were more adventurous and deservedly took the lead on 37 minutes through Bangal, a striker with an Italian fourth division club.
Bangal rose unchallenged from a corner, and his header bounced off the ground into the left corner of the net with Mbaba helpless.
Mozambique increased their lead just five minutes later after Bruno Ecuele Manga pulled the shirt of Elias ‘Domingues’ Pelembe in a clash of the rival captains.
Catamo calmly placed the penalty into the left corner as Mbaba dived in the opposite direction.
The Mambas almost scored again soon after, with Witiness ‘Witi’ Quembo bending a shot from outside the box that struck the woodwork.
Gabon pulled one goal back five minutes into the first-half added time through their best-known footballer, 36-year-old Marseille striker Aubameyang.
The 2015 African player of the year was perfectly positioned to tap the ball into the net after Mozambique goalkeeper Ernan Siluane failed to grasp a Didier Ndong shot.
Portugal-based right-back Calila scored the third Mozambique goal on 52 minutes, venturing forward to nod a Witi cross past Mbaba.
Aubameyang had a scoring chance soon after, but headed wide from point-blank range in a let-off for the Mozambicans.
Domingues, a 42-year-old and second-oldest footballer to play at an AFCON, was substituted midway through the second half by a more defensive midfielder, Manuel Kambala.
Siluane saved superbly from Aubameyang and Ndong, but a subsequent corner led to a goalmouth melee that ended with Moussounda slamming the ball into the net on 76 minutes to set up a tense finish.
Algeria beat Burkina Faso to reach Round 16
Captain Mahrez scored from the penalty spot midway through the first half at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat, and Algeria managed to secure victory in a tough match against a resilient Burkina team.
Algeria, the African champions of 1990 and 2019, hold the full six points after two matches in Group E and have not allowed a single goal, with Vladimir Petkovic’s team fulfilling their status as one of the top contenders before the tournament.
Burkina Faso and Sudan follow with three points each, but they face off in the last group match on Wednesday—this ensures that Algeria secures a top-two spot even if they lose their final game against the currently pointless Equatorial Guinea.
Algeria needed to recover from a two-goal deficit to level the match 2-2 against the Stallions during the last AFCON in Ivory Coast, a result that led to their exit from the group stage.
On this occasion, they secured all three points, thanks to the penalty that determined the match, given when Rayan Ait-Nouri of Manchester City was pushed down.
Mahrez scored confidently from the spot in the 23rd minute, adding to his two goals in the initial 3-0 loss to Sudan, bringing his total in this Cup of Nations to three goals.
The ex-Leicester City and Manchester City winger, making his sixth AFCON appearance, now holds nine goals in the tournament, a record for Algeria.
The match took place in a lively setting within a stadium filled with 18,522 Algerian supporters.
French icon Zinedine Zidane was in attendance to see his son Luca as he played goalkeeper for the Desert Foxes—he also witnessed the victory over Sudan.
Hearts striker Pierre Landry Kabore nearly leveled the score for Burkina Faso with a header from a corner, then Mahrez assisted Mohamed Amoura for a shot that was saved by goalkeeper Herve Koffi during an Algerian counterattack in first-half stoppage time.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Ibrahim Maza missed two good chances in the second half, while substitute Georgi Minoungou shot just above the target as Burkina Faso sought unsuccessfully for an equalizer.
AFP
