Algeria was beaten by Equatorial Guinea (0-1), to everyone’s surprise, at CAN 2022. The defending champion, who recorded his first defeat in 35 games, is last in his group before his third match against Ivory Coast.
The series ends at the worst time. Undefeated for 35 games, Djamel Belmadi’s men suffered a surprising and embarrassing defeat against incredible and heroic Equatorial Guineans. On a very complicated lawn to negotiate at the Japoma stadium (Douala), the Algerians have never managed to find the fault.
Unlike the “Nzalang Nacional” whose hero is called Esteban Orozco Fernández Obiang Obono. He appeared at the far post on a deflected corner to surprise the big Algerian favorite (70th).
As a result, Algeria is last in a group full of surprises: Côte d’Ivoire has 4 points, Equatorial Guinea 3, and Sierra Leone 2, after equalizing at the last second against the Elephants on an error by their goalkeeper (2-2). Ivorians and Algerians will meet on Thursday (5 p.m.) for the match of fear.
And inevitably, the specter of 1992 is approaching for the Algerians. Winners in 1990, the Fennecs were eliminated in the group stage in Senegal. If the pools only contained three teams, they had already crossed paths with Côte d’Ivoire who had beaten them 3-0 and won the title.