Africa Cup: Defending champions Algeria out, Comoros advance

Defending champions Algeria were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday after a 3-1 loss in the group stage to an Ivorian side that at times ran rampant and declared themselves title contenders from Cameroon.

Ivory Coast’s one-sided victory meant Algeria, once again one of the favourites to win this year, were without a win after two shock results earlier in the game to leave them at the bottom of Group E. Côte d’Ivoire’s fiasco ensures it stays there.

Algeria, like another former champion, Ghana, left early after failing to win a game and finishing bottom of the group. While the two African football powerhouses are on their way home, the Comoros and The Gambia are on their way to the knockout stages of their first major tournament.

In another surprising result – a near-daily upset at the utterly unpredictable Africa Cup – Gambia scored in the 93rd minute to beat former champions Tunisia 1-0 in Group F. Ablie Jallow hits the Gambia area high from the edge of the box.

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The results of the final day of the group stage: Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea advance from Group E, while Mali, Gambia and Tunisia – one of the four best third-placed teams – all advance from Group F.

Algeria needed to beat Ivory Coast to keep their reigning champions after a draw with Sierra Leone before finding themselves in the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in African Cup history lost to Equatorial Guinea on SundayGoals from Frank Casey and Ibrahim Sangare in the first half and Nicolas Pepe in the 54th minute gave Ivory Coast a 3-0 lead at Douala but didn’t turn things around.

Casey volleyed the opening volley, Sangare unmarked a free kick and scored with a header. The Algerian defenders stood up and looked at each other after the goal. Pepe’s goals were of high quality as he sprinted in front of goal, turned between the two defenders and shot into the left corner.

Riyad Mahrez missed a penalty after 60 minutes to cap off Algeria’s humiliating defeat. The Manchester City striker sent Ivorian goalkeeper Badra Ali Sangare the wrong way, but his penalty kicked the post. Algeria did pull a goal back through Sofiane Bendebka’s header, but that didn’t soften the blow to the North African in this disastrous tournament.

Next Wednesday, Côte d’Ivoire will play Egypt in their last 16 games, which appears to be the current round. Ivory Coast won the 2015 Africa Cup during the Yaya Toure era, but was overlooked in this competition. That changed with a striking performance against Algeria, which easily yielded more goals.

Sierra Leone out

Equatorial Guinea beat 10-man Sierra Leone 1-0 in another Group E match on Thursday and went on to beat Algeria after group winners Ivory Coast. Sierra Leone striker Kai Kamara, 37, missed a late penalty that would have made his side one of the best third-place teams at the expense of Comoros.

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Comoros had to wait since Tuesday to see if it would advance, but ended up cramming into the lowest-ranked third-place team. The small island nation clinched its first victory in major tournament football by beating four-time Africa Cup champions Ghana 3-2 in Group C. For context, the Comoros only played their first game in 1979, when Ghana had already won three African titles.

The Comoros’ reward is Monday’s last-16 match against hosts Cameroon at the Orembe Stadium in Yaounde.

In the loss to Gambia, Tunisia’s Sefuddin Jaziri was awarded a penalty, the third missed after Mahrez and Kamara. Mali beat Mauritania 2-0 in the other match in Group F when Ibrahima Kone ended the trend and scored in Mali’s second game.

The Africa Cup of Nations is rested on Friday and Saturday before returning on Sunday for the first two games of the round of 16; Burkina Faso v Gabon and Nigeria v Tunisia. The penalty for Tunisia’s loss to the Gambia was to meet the Nigerian in good shape.