The national team began the CAN 2025 qualifiers with a victory against Equatorial Guinea on the first day of Group E, played on Thursday evening at the Miloud Hadefi stadium in Oran in the presence of a large audience.
A victory with a scent of revenge for Riyad Mahrez’s teammates against an opponent who inflicted a defeat on them for the very first time in the history of confrontations between the two teams. It was during the CAN 2022 in Cameroon which had just ended a long series of 35 matches without defeat for the Greens.
On the occasion of this reunion, almost two years later, Vladimir Petkovic’s men did not miss the opportunity to remind their guests that they are the first favorites of the group despite the clear progression shown by Equatorial Guinea in the game and the results since the CAN 2015 which it organized.
Petkovic’s gang immediately showed their intentions by harassing their opponent in their last entrenchments, but without managing to find the fault. The visitors were well positioned around goalkeeper Owon. It was not until the 21st minute that the Greens were awarded a penalty following a double foul on Bounedjah and Tougaï. Mahrez, the specialist, took charge of converting the penalty but completely missed the target. This was followed by a series of blunders and misses on the Algerian side who, visibly, lack competition at the start of the season. Bounedjah and Benrahma in particular came close to opening the score. Equatorial Guinea was also far from the level displayed during the last CAN in Ivory Coast.
Throughout the match, she hardly worried goalkeeper Mandrea. Only two attempts at shots, signed by L. Lnavo (18th) and Salvador (45th+1), were recorded. The absence of the striker Emilio Nsue, suspended by the CAF, weighed on the team’s performance. In the second half, it was practically the same scenario. It was without captain Mahrez who opened the hostilities with a cannon shot pushed back by goalkeeper Owon. Aouar on the lookout did not miss the opportunity to open the scoring with a diving header (69th). A goal that made the visitors react, but without danger. Coach Petkovic will make changes in the meantime that will bring the most expected in attack. The entry of Atal, Gouiri, Zorgane, Hadj Moussa, and Benzia gave more liveliness to the offensive compartment, as evidenced by the missed opportunities, notably by Benrahma and Benzia. In added time, Gouiri, well served in-depth, will manage to deceive the vigilance of the goalkeeper Owon to double the lead. A deserved victory but many things need to be reviewed.
The national team returned to the Sidi Moussa Center to continue preparations for the second match of the CAN 2025 qualifiers against Liberia, on Tuesday, September 10 (5 p.m.) at the Samuel Doe Stadium in Monrovia. The national team will fly tomorrow (Sunday) to Monrovia on a special Air Algérie plane.
