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Algeria secured their place in the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations after a Riyad Mahrez penalty gave them a 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso on Sunday.
Captain Mahrez converted from the spot midway through the first half at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat, and Algeria then held on to win a bruising contest against a determined Burkina outfit.
Algeria, African champions in 1990 and in 2019, have the maximum six points after two games in Group E and are yet to concede a goal, with Vladimir Petkovic’s side living up to their billing as one of the pre-tournament favourites.
“We were expecting a very tough match. We fought very hard and the most important thing is that we won the game. Now we are qualified and that was the main goal,” said Algeria’s Bayer Leverkusen forward Ibrahim Maza, the man of the match.
Algeria had to come from two goals down to draw 2-2 with the Stallions when the teams met at the last AFCON in the Ivory Coast, a result which contributed to their group-stage elimination. This time, they claimed all three points, with the penalty that decided the game awarded when Manchester City’s Rayan Ait-Nouri was bundled over inside the box.
Mahrez made no mistake with his 23rd-minute kick as he followed his brace in the opening 3-0 defeat of Sudan to take his tally at this Cup of Nations to three goals. The former Leicester City and Manchester City winger, appearing at his sixth AFCON, now has nine goals at the tournament, an Algerian record.
