In the early morning of January 17, Beijing time, the African Cup of Nations played a number of games, of which 2 games in Group E were upset. Title-winning favourites Ivory Coast were forced to draw 2-2 in the final moments by Sierra Leone, ranked 108th in the world, with a 2-degree lead. Defending champion Algeria lost 1-1 to Equatorial Guinea at the bottom of the group at 114.
In the first round of the group stage, there was a upset situation in Group E, and the defending champion Algeria was forced to draw by Sierra Leone, which surprised many fans. On the Côte d'Ivoire side, although it won the first round, it was only a small victory by one goal, and the result of the game was still relatively unexpected.
However, the second round of the game began, and the upset situation was still happening. The first is the first match between Côte d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone. Ivory Coast scored a penalty in 12 minutes of the match, but Casey's low-quality penalty was saved by the opposing goalkeeper. In the ensuing time, Ivory Coast relied on goals from Allai and Pepe to lead Sierra Leone twice.
Just when Ivorian fans thought the team could qualify for two consecutive wins, The African Elephants' 35-year-old goalkeeper Badra Ali made a super-outrageous mistake and was successfully drawn by the opponent who seized the opportunity. In the 93rd minute of the match, Badra Ali disengaged while already holding the ball, only to be seized by his opponent to complete the draw.
To make Badra Ali even worse, he left the field injured after this save. With Ivory Coast already running out of five substitutions, the African Elephants had to let former Tottenham star Ollie to keep the goal. In the final round of the group stage, whether the main goalkeeper Badra Alli can play is still unknown.
In the Group E competition, although Côte d'Ivoire is currently in the top position, they did not qualify in advance, and once they lost the final round, there is a high probability that they will be eliminated in the group stage. What worries Côte d'Ivoire is that they are facing the defending champions Algeria in the final round.
In this Africa Cup of Nations competition, Algeria performed very badly. In the first two rounds of the group stage, Algeria only had 1 point in the group. In the early morning match against Equatorial Guinea, Algeria slammed 16 goals on goal, but did not get any points.
In the final round of the group stage, Algeria would only be able to qualify if it defeated Côte d'Ivoire. Algeria's Africa Cup of Nations is not in good shape, and Manchester City star Mahrez has absolute responsibility. After 2 games, the Premier League champions did not lead the team to score. Once he could not lead the team to win the final round, he could only return to Manchester City early to play.
After two rounds of competition, Group E can be called the most brutal group in this African Cup of Nations. From Côte d'Ivoire at the top of the table to Algeria at the bottom, who has the possibility of qualifying in the final round, but it is also accompanied by the danger of elimination.