Angola managed on Monday to snatch a draw against Algeria (1-1), one of the main favorites for the African Cup of Nations, which therefore begins its journey in this competition in pain. Algeria, which had achieved a catastrophic CAN in 2022 by having been eliminated in the first round, while they had won it in 2019, nevertheless clearly dominated the first half of the match, at the Stade de la Paix de Bouake.
Algerian coach Djamel Belmadi made a strong choice for his team’s first match by starting Baghdad Bounedjah at the forefront of the Algerian attack, in place of Islam Slimani, top scorer in the history of the selection. A choice that paid off, since it was Bounedjah who opened the scoring (19th) with a nice shot from the outside of the right foot, after being magnificently served in the air by Youcef Belaïli. The Algerian striker even came close to doubling the lead with a sublime acrobatic return, but the goal was disallowed for offside (25th).
The Angolans still created a few chances, but without danger for the Algerian goalkeeper, betrayed by a cruel lack of technical accuracy. This is evidenced by the far too cross strike from Gelson Dala (42nd), which goes far off target, even though he had made the difference in the area after being served deep by a teammate.
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But upon returning from the locker room, the Palancas Negras (Black Antelopes) showed a completely different face by offering themselves a highlight which led to a penalty, following a foul by Nabil Bentaleb on Mabululu’s calf. The latter took responsibility by converting his penalty (67th), even if his shot first hit the bar before finally crossing the goal line. The Fennecs tried, throughout the remainder of the second half, to regain the advantage by leading rapid offensives in the wake of Belaïli, until stoppage time. In the final seconds (90th 7), Farès Chaïbi even almost found the way to goal on a dangerous free kick, just in front of the penalty area, played in two stages with Riyad Mahrez, but the Angolan goalkeeper intervened.
Mauritania and Burkina Faso, the two other teams which make up this group D, will face each other on Tuesday (3 p.m.).