AFCON: Equatorial Guinea end Algeria’s 35-game unbeaten run as Ivory Coast drop points

January 16, 2022 10:21 pm

AFCON: Equatorial Guinea end Algeria’s 35-game unbeaten run as Ivory Coast drop points (Reuters)

Equatorial Guinea have delivered the biggest upset yet at the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) following a surprise 1-0 win over Algeria, the current defending champions, in their Group E encounter at the Douala stadium in Cameroon.

The defeat ended Algeria’s 35-match unbeaten run that has stretched on from October 2018.

The Central Africans scored the historic winning goal on 70 minutes through Esteban Obiang, who grabbed the goal following a flick on from a corner kick.

The goal sparked the Desert Fox to life and had a goal ruled out for offside as the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani could not overturn a rare defeat for Algeria.

Algeria are bottom of Group E with one point from two matches, with Equatorial Guinea climbing to second spot on three points.

In the earlier matches, Ivory Coast conceded a last-minute goal to settle for a 2-2 draw with Sierra Leone. Gambia also held Mali to a 1-1 draw while Tunisia crushed Mauritania 4-0 to make for a tight Group F that would be decided on the final day of group matches.

Mali and Gambia are joint-top on four points each while Tunisia is third on three points.

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