Reigning champions Algeria were dumped out of the Africa Cup of Nations after an abject 3-1 defeat against the Ivory Coast as the group stage came to a conclusion on Thursday with Tunisia, Equatorial Guinea and tiny tournament debutants the Comoros all securing places in the last 16. Algeria came to the tournament on an unbeaten run stretching back over three years but they were held by Sierra Leone in their opening match and then lost to Equatorial Guinea to suffer a first defeat in 36 games. Their demise was lapped up by the fans at the Japoma Stadium, with the 50,000-capacity ground filling up as the game went on. Equatorial Guinea go through in second place in Group E after defeating Sierra Leone 1-0 in Limbe thanks to a superb first-half strike from Pablo Ganet. Kei Kamara missed a penalty for Sierra Leone as they go out while Equatorial Guinea stay in Limbe for a last-16 tie against Mali on January 26.

Source: The Nation January 22, 2022 03:24 UTC