© JumpStory
The Algerian national team will not defend the title of African Cup of Nations champions - the North African team leaves the tournament after the group stage. In the final group match, Algeria only needed a victory, but Ivory Coast proved its superiority. Ivory Coast beat Algeria 3:1. Already in the first half, Ivory Coast led 2:0. The goals for the winners were scored by Ibrahim Sangare and Franck Kessie, and in the second half, Nicolas Pepe added another goal, turning the score into 3:0. To make matters worse, in the 60th minute Algeria's leader Riyad Mahrez had a chance to add some intrigue to the match, but missed the penalty kick hitting the goal frame. In the 73rd minute, Sofiane Bendebka scored a consolation goal for Algeria. In the 93rd minute, it seemed that Sebastian Haller was going to score the last goal, but after VAR review, the goal was cancelled. Ivory Coast national team advanced as the first team from Group E. Equatorial Guinea took the second place by beating Sierra Leone 1:0 in the last match.
