For its entry into the running, Algeria missed its meeting against Angola despite a good start to the match (1-1). The Fennecs will have to show much better in the second match.
This Monday evening, Algeria entered the competition in this 2023 African Cup of Nations. After the fiasco of 2021, the Fennecs were keen to redeem themselves and show that they were capable of recovering the cup on the 11th. next February. For his first eleven, Djamel Belmadi knew he was expected, especially with the XXL squad at his disposal. The Algerian coach lined up a very attractive team with an attacking quartet made up of Bounedjah, Mahrez, Chaibi and Belaili. For its part, Angola presented itself with a more defensive composition with 5 defenders and the desire to create the feat by catching Algeria.
But in this meeting, the Fennecs quickly wanted to show that they were not there to have fun. By imposing intense pressing with great activity, the Algerians dictated the tempo of the match and logically opened the scoring. It was Baghdad Bounedjah who gave his team the advantage by taking advantage of a good deep call to beat Cipriano Da Cruz (1-0, 18th). The fiery Algerian striker then scored what could already have been the best goal of the tournament. With a sublime sequence, he slammed a scissors but his goal was canceled for an offside position. Enough to allow Angola to still be alive in this match.
Algeria is already dropping points
Before the break, the Angolan coach decided to leave striker Bruno Paz completely transparent in this meeting. He was replaced by Mabululu. A choice that simply changed everything as the Al Ittihad striker (in Egypt, editor's note) was so restless. And when he returned from the locker room, it was he who initiated the awakening of his family. Faced with Algerians who were clearly in a tough physical situation at the hour mark, the Angolans clearly dominated and logically equalized. It was Mabululu who caused a penalty by beating Bentaleb who was struggling until then. The 31-year-old striker was responsible for converting his penalty himself (68th, 1-1).
An equalizer that shook Algeria, which was clearly beginning to doubt. Djamel Belmadi reacted by bringing in Ounas, Slimani, Aouar and Zerrouki. Coming into play which allowed the Fennecs to rest their foot on the ball and offer themselves an interesting last 10 minutes to push and find the fault once again. Riyad Mahrez decided to wake up to try to be the savior of the team again. But the current Al-Ahli player couldn't do it. And the last opportunity signed by Chaïbi illustrated this new Algerian poor performance. Algeria is hooked from the start and will have to win against Burkina Faso on the next day.