Beaten Thursday by Côte d’Ivoire (3-1), Algeria, defending champion, was eliminated from CAN 2022 in the group stage.
1992-2022. The drama happened again. Already held in check by Sierra Leone (0-0) then beaten by Equatorial Guinea (1-0), Djamel Belmadi’s men finished last in group E of the CAN with only one point on the clock. They sadly imitate their elders who had also been released from the group stage when they were champions.
Côte d’Ivoire, which will face Egypt in the round of 16, won on goals from Franck Kessié (22nd), Ibrahim Sangaré (39th) and Nicolas Pépé (54th). Algeria reduced the score by Sofiane Bendebka (74th).
Arriving undefeated in Cameroon, Algeria extended their unbeaten streak to 35 games before losing twice.
“Difficult to make a rational analysis after such disappointment. We were not up to the competition, confided Djamel Belmadi after the meeting. We prepared 100% for this competition. We wanted to defend our title. We did not get what we wanted to look for. It is a total failure.”
The next big meeting for the selection led by Djamel Belmadi is in March for the World Cup play-offs, the draw of which takes place on Saturday.