Algeria secured their place in the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations after a Riyad Mahrez penalty gave them a 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso on Sunday.
Captain Mahrez converted from the spot midway through the first half at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat, and Algeria then held on to win a bruising contest against a determined Burkina Faso outfit.
Algeria, African champions in 1990 and 2019, now 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 pre-tournament favourites.
Burkina Faso and Sudan follow with three points each but will face off in the final round of group games on Wednesday. This means Algeria is guaranteed a top-two finish even if they lose their last outing against currently pointless Equatorial Guinea.
In their previous meeting at the last AFCON in Ivory Coast, Algeria had to come from two goals down to draw 2-2 with the Stallions, a result that contributed to their group-stage elimination. This time, they claimed all three points, with the decisive penalty awarded when Manchester City’s Rayan Ait-Nouri was bundled over.
Mahrez made no mistake with his 23rd-minute kick, following his brace in the opening 3-0 defeat of Sudan, taking his tally at this Cup of Nations to three goals. The former Leicester City and Manchester City winger, appearing in his sixth AFCON, now has nine goals at the tournament, setting an Algerian record.
The match unfolded in a boisterous atmosphere, with 18,522 fans filling the stadium, many of them Algerian supporters. Among the crowd was France legend Zinedine Zidane, who was present to watch his son Luca play in goal for the Desert Foxes, having also attended the victory over Sudan.
Burkina Faso’s Pierre Landry Kabore came close to equalising with a header from a corner, while Mahrez set up Mohamed Amoura for a shot that was saved by goalkeeper Herve Koffi at the end of an Algerian breakaway in first-half stoppage time.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Ibrahim Maza twice missed good opportunities in the second half, and substitute Georgi Minoungou fired just over as Burkina Faso pushed unsuccessfully for an equaliser.
Credit: AFP
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