Djamel Belmadi‘s side, who needed a win to guarantee progression to the last 16, had plenty of chances to open the scoring early on, as Youcef Atal and Adam Ounas both had shots saved. Their best opening fell to Houssem Aouar, although he failed to hit the target from close range, squeezing the wrong side of the post when he ought to have done better.

At the other end, Mauritania grew into proceedings, and after Souleymane Anne had forced a terrific stop out of opposition goalkeeper Anthony Mandrea, they took a shock lead through Dellahi. The Al-Nasr midfielder profited from Omaré Gassama’s blocked shot falling his way, coolly hooking home via the inside of the post from 10 yards out. Hitcham Boudaoui then spurned a pair of openings for the Greens before the break, while Aboubakary Koita had a fierce effort beaten away.

Leading at the break, Amir Abdou‘s side were on course for their first ever AFCON victory, and they knew a win would see them qualify as one of the tournament’s best third-placed finishers. Algeria, on the other hand, were heading out, and called for the cavalry as Riyad Mahrez was finally introduced for the second period. They nearly found themselves 2-0 down, though, when a mazy Koita run, which took him past several defenders, ended in a blazed shot over the bar. At the other end, Babacar Niasse made a pair of stunning saves to keep out Boudaoui’s flicked header and Aïssa Mandi’s point-blank range effort as the Greens started to throw the kitchen sink at their opponents.

As Algeria piled forward, space was left at the back, which was nearly exploited by Aboubakar Kamara, who had a long-range shot palmed to safety, while Ibnou Ba missed an open goal, rattling the woodwork from yards out.

Those squandered chances mattered not, though, as Mauritania registered a fairytale victory – their first-ever against Algeria – who fail to qualify for the knockout stages for the second tournament running.

MATCH STATISTICS

https://twitter.com/madeinafricaweb/status/1749921801566552231?s=20

MAN OF THE MATCH

https://twitter.com/CAF_Online/status/1749917487959875872?s=20

FINAL GROUP STANDING

AFCON 2023 Group D

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Angola	3	2	1	0	6	3	3	7
2	Burkina Faso	3	1	1	1	3	4	-1	4
3	Mauritania	3	1	0	2	3	4	-1	3
4	Algeria	3	0	2	1	3	4	-1	2

 

Advance to Round of 16

The post Mauritania 1-0 Algeria: Al-Murabitun magic sends Mahrez and co. packing appeared first on Made In Africa Sport.

Using Sofascore ratings, we analysed the best performers of the round using 3-4-3 formation.

Between the sticks, Vozinha of Cape Verde was the hero of the hour as the Blue Sharks trounced the Mambas of Mozambique with three unreplied goals at Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The 37-year-old made two crucial saves, a punch, and two high claims for the Islanders.

Guinea’s Mouctar Diakhaby stood his ground against Gambia, as the Elephants defeated the Scorpions by a lone goal courtesy of a 69th-minute strike by Aguibou Camara. The right full-back had five clearances, one each for block, interception, and tackle. 

Sport-loving Nigerians must have William Troost-Ekong to thank for giving the Super Eagles maximum points against the hosts, Côte d’Ivoire. The PAOK centre-back scored a 55th-minute penalty goal against the Elephants, and made four clearances, along with two tackles and interceptions, which was a plus for the 30-year-old to make the team of the week.

Gambia’s Omar Colley did what he could for his team against the Mambas, but his beautiful display was not enough for the Scorpions.

Mohammed Kudus continued his fine Premier League form in AFCON, scoring a brace for the Black Stars of Ghana against the Pharaohs of Egypt in a 2-2 draw. Angola’s Gelson Dala also bagged two goals for the Sable Antelopes in a 3-2 win against Mauritania. Both players charted their paths in the AFCON matchday two teams of the week. 

Omar Marmoush was among the players who gave his best for the Pharaohs, as they shared the spoils against their Ghanaian counterparts. The Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder scored the 69th-minute goal that cancelled Kudus’ first-half goal. 

Emilio Nsue was the town’s song, as he scored a treble for Equatorial Guinea in a 4-2 win against Guinea-Bissau. It was the first hat-trick since the 2008 edition of the AFCON. The 34-year-old striker is now the joint-top scorer in the ongoing AFCON 2023.

| STAT ATTACK

Equatorial Guinea 4-1 Guinea-Bissau

Emilio Nsue becomes the first player to score a hattrick in AFCON since Morocco's Soufiane Alloidi against Namibia in January 2008, 5868 days ago.#EQGGNB#AFCONWithMIAS#AFCON2023 #CAN2023#TotalEnergiesAFCON2023

— Made In Africa Sport (@madeinafricaweb) January 18, 2024

While Mauritania’s Aboubakary Koita and Sidi Bouna scored in their 2-3 loss, their efforts weren’t enough. Their stellar performance earned them individual recognition in the team of the week, but it couldn’t save the day. In contrast, South Africa‘s Themba Zwane enjoyed a triumphant day, scoring twice in their 4-0 demolition of Namibia.

AFCON 2023 Matchday 2 Team of The Week

The post AFCON 2023 Matchday 2 TOTW: Kudus the architect joins hat-trick hero Nsue as top performers appeared first on Made In Africa Sport.

Few would have expected Mauritania to cause Burkina Faso many problems in what was only their third ever participation in the prestigious tournament. The minnows, though, stood firm for an extended period. Burkinabé forwards Cedric Badolo and Mohamed Konaté threatened them successively for the first time in the game midway through the half, but their respective chances failed to test goalkeeper Babacar Niasse.

Mauritania even went close to taking the lead when Aboubakary Koita initially caught Burkina Faso’s Hervé Koffi off-guard with a free-kick, only to see the keeper produce an exquisite save to deny the Lions of Chinguetti the lead for the first time in an AFCON match. Nevertheless, Mauritania coach Amir Abdou will have taken pride in his team’s first-half display, especially as they prevented the Stallions from finding the back of the net before the break for the first time in six AFCON group encounters.

The favourites upped the ante after the interval as they looked to kick off the campaign with all three points, but Mauritania comfortably handled any attacks they faced as the final 30 minutes beckoned. A host of attacking changes for the Lions indicated a change in tempo at the other end, with substitute Amar Sidi Bouna‘s thunderous long-range shot forcing Koffi into a brilliant save, denying Mauritania just a second goal at the AFCON finals in the process.

Burkina Faso responded, as Niasse pulled off a terrific one-handed stop to keep Traoré’s drive at bay, but it proved to be in vain as Issa Kaboré won a penalty in stoppage time after being fouled by Nouh El Abd. Following a VAR review, Traoré made up for his earlier miss with a well-taken spot-kick to extend Burkina Faso’s scoring streak to 15 consecutive AFCON games. While Hubert Velud’s men are undefeated in five H2Hs, their opponents still remain in the hunt for their maiden win at the tournament.

STATISTICS

FULL-TIME STATISTICS

Burkina Faso 1-0 Mauritania

Bertrand Traore's 96th minute penalty was the difference as The Stallions starts their #AFCON2023 journey with a win.#AFCONWithMIAS#CAN2023#TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/hcROAY71SI

— Made In Africa Sport (@madeinafricaweb) January 16, 2024

MAN OF THE MATCH

Ibrahim Blati Toure

The Burkinabe superstar is your TotalEnergies Man of the Match!#BFAMRT | #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 | @Football2Gether pic.twitter.com/dTmvwYjynI

— CAF_Online (@CAF_Online) January 16, 2024

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