Despite having Sebastien Haller’s last minute goal chalked off for offside, Ivory Coast ran rampant, thrashing Algeria 3-1 at the Japoma Stadium in Douala to dump the defending champions out of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Goals from Franck Kessi, Ibrahim Sangare and Nico Pepe saw Les Elephants make an emphatic entry into the last 16 as group winners while Algeria, who scored their consolation through Sofiane Bendebka, exit the tournament without a win.
It is a case of history repeating itself. When Algeria won the AFCON in 1990, they bowed out of the next edition in the group phase, with one point and surprisingly, suffering a 3-1 loss against Ivory Coast again.
“It is simply a failure, difficult to make a rational analysis on the spot. We were keen to catch up on this match after a difficult start but the big problem, we did not manage to materialize our chances. We just didn’t manage to get in to the competition,” a dejected Algeria coach Djabel Belmadi stated.
Meanwhile, Ivory Coast were on the moon after another superb performance gave them hope of a first Cup of Nations title since 2015.
“It’s an almost perfect match; a lot of satisfaction, heart and courage. Unlike other matches, we managed to put in the necessary ingredients with success at the end. A lot of positive things were seen today and if we continue like this, we can have something at the end,” Patrice Beaumelle, the Ivory Coast head coach stated.
Dejected Algeria players after the match
Algeria came into this match with only a point and needed to win at all costs to remain in contention to defend their title. They started well and came close early on when Ismael Bennacer struck the side netting after picking up a corner started quickly.
But, they were pegged back after 22 minutes when Franck Kessie put the Ivorians ahead with a volleyed finish inside the box after Pepe cut back a cross from the right.
The goal injected some belief in Ivory Coast, who had seen goalkeeper Ali Badre Sangare start the match despite having lost his father only a few weeks ago, after Ivory Coast’s last match.
And, the West Africans doubled their lead after 39 minutes, further making Algeria’s mountain more difficult to climb when Sangare thumped in a header inside the box from a well diced Serge Aurier cross.
In the second half, Algeria seemed deflated and already resigned to the fact that their tournament was over. Aurier came close to adding a third but his rasping shot flew inches wide.
In the 51st minute, a brilliant counter attack saw Pepe break into the box, but his shot was blocked by the feet of Rais Mbohli as Les Fennecs survived.
But there was no stopping the Arsenal man this time around when he wrapped his foot sweetly around the ball to curl in a third for the Ivorians after being put through by Haller.
Algeria were offered a way back into the match on the hour mark from the penalty spot after Youcef Bellaili was brought down by Simon Deli, but it wasn’t just Algeria’s day as Riyad Mahrez clipped his penalty against the upright.
They however got a goal back in the 74th minute when Bendebka headed unmarked inside the box after Aissa Mandi had acrobatically kept the ball in play at the backpost from a corner.
A minute later in a dramatic twist of events, Algeria should have surely added a second when Mahrez’s freekick landed perfectly inside the box for Islam Silimani to score his 41st goal for Nigeria, but his header was pushed away by keeper Sangare.
Kessie thought he had scored his second and Ivory Coast’s fourth to seal the win, but his goal was ruled offside. The same fate would befall Haller, who thumped in a header from a cross on the right but was also ruled offside after VAR consultation at the death.
Ivory Coast finish top of the group with seven points.
Equatorial Guinea players celebrate their victory
Meanwhile in the other group match, Equatorial Guinea squeezed in to finish second and also progress to the round of 16 after beating Sierra Leone 1-0. The Leone Stars had a chance to scrape for a point with a late penalty with five minutes left, but Kei Kamara saw his spot kick saved.
They had to finish the match with 10 men when Kwame Quee was sent off for a second yellow card.
Pablo Ganet scored the winner for Equatorial Guinea with a smashing finish, a shot from outside the area.
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