The Desert Warrior of Algeria
have beaten the Super Eagles of Nigeria 2-1 to advance to the final of the
African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in Egypt.
A spectacular free-kick by Riyad
Mahrez won it for the Algerian team. Mahrez, perfectly curled the ball into the
back of the net.
Possession swung between both
sides in the first minutes with players looking cautious. The game’s first real
chance came at the quarter hour mark from a free kick that Isamil Bennacer sent
to Rami Bensabaini, but the defender’s header went just wide.
With possession going towards Les
Fennecs side, Baghdad Bounedjah was about to give Algeria the lead after 29 minutes.
Youcef Belaili pass found the striker who rounded his marker, but his shot went
straight to Nigeria’s goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi hands.
The first real chance for the
Super Eagles came after 38 minutes when Alex Iwobi found Odion Ighalo, but the
striker’s shot went wide.
Les Fennecs broke the deadlock
five minutes from the break. Riyad Mahrez sent a calling cross that was
deflected from Nigeria’s defender William Troost-Ekong to his own net giving
Algeria a deserved lead into the halftime.
Nigeria started the second half
on attacking note trying to find the equalizer, but found a resolute Algerian
defense that stopped all their attempts. Alex Iwobi tried from distance on the
hour mark but missed the target widely.
Algeria tried depending on the
counter attack, but couldn’t make a difference. And after 70 minutes the game
took a turnaround. Video Assistant Referee (VAR) intervened to give Nigeria a
penalty for a handball on Aissa Mandi. Odion Ighalo made no mistake from the
spot to tie the game at 1-1.
Algeria players looked fatigued
and tried to keep their opponents at bay, relying on Mahrez and Belaili’s speed
in counter attacks.
Ismail Bennacer could have given
Algeria the lead two minutes into stoppage time but his shot kissed the
crossbar.
And it was Mahrez who won the
match for Les Fennecs four minutes after the full time mark when his free kick
was perfectly placed over the wall and into the net to lead Les Fennecs to the
final for the second time in their history and the first since 1990.
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