At 3:00 Beijing time on January 17, the second round of the African Cup of Nations Group E, Algeria played against Equatorial Guinea. In the first half, the two teams exchanged white rolls, and in the second half Esteban scored first, and Bellelli's 83-minute draw was blown out. In the end, Algeria fell 0-1, the defending champions were upset, and they did not win in two consecutive rounds and scored 0 goals, and are currently at the bottom of the table.
Algeria is the defending champion with the odds of winning the title in second place, behind Senegal. According to the latest edition of the FIFA rankings, Algeria ranks 29th and Africa 3rd! Rival Equatorial Guinea ranks 114th in the world, with a total team worth 5 million euros, which is not as good as Mahrez alone.
No one expected that Algeria, with a luxurious lineup, would actually lose to its opponents and be kept clean sheets. In the last round, Algeria drew 0-0 with Sierra Leone, and now it is directly losing to Equatorial Guinea, and only 1 point after 2 rounds.
It is worth mentioning that Algeria's 9 consecutive African Cup of Nations unbeaten games have been ended, and the record of 35 consecutive A-class matches has ended. Algeria's last defeat was in October 2018, when they lost 1-0 to Benin in the World Preliminaries. In the nearly four years since then, Algeria has won 25 wins and 10 draws, and is even expected to challenge Italy's miracle of 37 consecutive unbeaten games.
Equatorial Guinea is a small country on the border of West Africa with a population of only 1.4 million, and football has never been a strong suit. You know, the last time Equatorial Guinea won the Africa Cup of Nations was exactly 10 years ago.
After this battle, Equatorial Guinea and Algeria staged a magical exchange, the former rushing from the bottom to the second place in the group, and the latter instantly falling to the bottom of the first place. In the final round, Algeria will also challenge the top team Côte d'Ivoire, and may not qualify for the knockout round.
Contest Review ——
In the 70th minute, Equatorial Guinea won a corner kick opportunity, Josette Miranda's low ball was sent to the back post, and Esteban shoveled a shot to make it 1-0! After the goal, Esteban ran wildly with open arms to celebrate.
In the 83rd minute, Mahrez's long pass over the top was met by Bellelli's volley into a world wave. However, in slow motion, Bellerelli was offside before receiving the ball, and the goal was invalid.
After nearly 100 minutes of bitter fighting, Equatorial Guinea finally defeated the defending champions 1-0, and the players rushed to the field to revel. As for the Algerian players, they are disappointed, holding their heads in regret with both hands, and the contrast between the two emotions is too strong.