Equatorial Guinea dealt a major blow to Algeria’s African Cup of Nations (AFCON) defense, earning a surprise 1-0 win over the champions in their Group E game at the Douala stadium in Cameroon.
Equatorial Guinea ranked 114th in the world, stunned the number three footballing nation in Africa with a 70th-minute winner to leave their more illustrious opponents on the brink of elimination at the group stage.
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Esteban Obiang, a right-back who plays in the Segunda division in Spain, scored the goal that ended Algeria’s 35-match unbeaten run that started in 2018. The Spain-born defender stole in at the back post to convert a flick-on following a corner kick.
Equatorial Guinea now has three points with their first win and is second in the group, one point behind Ivory Coast who were held to a 2-2 draw by Sierra Leone. Algeria is however bottom with a point and must defeat Ivory Coast in the final group match to qualify from the group.
Sebastian Haller and Nicolas Pepe scored for Ivory Coast but the former Champions were pegged back by Sierra Leone returning to AFCON following a 26-year absence.
Tunisia, however, crushed Mauritania 4-0 with two goals in each half for their first points of the tournament and are one point off the top two in Group F, Gambia, and Mali on four points after settling for a 1-1 draw.
RESULTS
Gambia 1-1 Mali
Tunisia 4-0 Mauritania
Ivory Coast 2-2 Sierra Leone
Algeria 0-1 Equatorial Guinea
